Japanese symbol for “sear”

焼き目をつける

やきめをつける

Romaji: yakimeotsukeru

to cook until browned; to brown; to sear

In Japanese, sear is 焼き目をつける, read やきめをつける (yakimeotsukeru).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

exp, v1 to cook until browned; to brown; to sear

Written forms: 焼き目をつける、焼き目を付ける、焼きめをつける、焼目を付ける. Readings: やきめをつける.

Kanji and stroke order

焼

bake, burning

on: ショウ
kun: や.く、や.き、や.き-、-や.き

12 strokes · JLPT 2

目

eye, class, look

on: モク、ボク
kun: め、-め、ま-

5 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
燃焼	ねんしょう nenshou	burning; combustion
焼肉	やきにく yakiniku	yakiniku; Japanese dish of grilled meat similar to Korean barbecue
日焼け	ひやけ hiyake	sunburn; suntan; tan
焼酎	しょうちゅう shouchuu	shōchū; Japanese spirit distilled from sweet potatoes, rice, etc.
焼き鳥	やきとり yakitori	yakitori; chicken pieces (or sometimes beef or pork offal) grilled on a skewer
焼きそば	やきそば yakisoba	yakisoba; fried noodles, usu. with vegetables and meat
目的	もくてき mokuteki	purpose; goal; aim
目標	もくひょう mokuhyou	goal; target; aim

See also: Chinese symbol for “sear”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.