Japanese symbol for “smothering”

蒸し煮

むしに

Romaji: mushini

simmering after steaming

In Japanese, smothering is 蒸し煮, read むしに (mushini).

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

n simmering after steaming (food)
n simmering (in a small amount of broth); smothering; estouffade (food)

Written forms: 蒸し煮、蒸煮. Readings: むしに.

Kanji and stroke order

蒸

steam, heat, sultry

on: ジョウ、セイ
kun: む.す、む.れる、む.らす

13 strokes · JLPT 2

煮

boil, cook

on: シャ
kun: に.る、-に、に.える、に.やす

12 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
蒸発	じょうはつ jouhatsu	evaporation
蒸気	じょうき jouki	steam; vapour; vapor
水蒸気	すいじょうき suijouki	water vapour; water vapor; steam
蒸し	むし mushi	steaming
蒸す	むす musu	to steam (food, towel, etc.)
蒸し暑い	むしあつい mushiatsui	humid; sultry
煮る	にる niru	to boil; to simmer; to stew
煮物	にもの nimono	nimono; food cooked by boiling or stewing

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.