Japanese symbol for “watery”
薄い
うすい
Romaji: usui
thin (of an object)
In Japanese, watery is 薄い, read うすい (usui).
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
- adj-i thin (of an object)
- adj-i pale; light; faint
- adj-i watery; thin; diluted
- adj-i weak (taste, etc.); little (affection, etc.); not much (of a presence)
- adj-i slim (probability, etc.); small
- adj-i sparse; patchy; scattered
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “watery”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 水っぽい | みずっぽい mizuppoi | watery; soggy |
| 水臭い | みずくさい mizukusai | watery (alcohol, coffee, etc.) |
| 出がらし | でがらし degarashi | used up (tea leaves, coffee grounds); insipid (tea, coffee made from such leaves or grounds); watery |
| 水様 | すいよう suiyou | watery |
| ビチビチ | ビチビチ bichibichi | sound of the expulsion of soft matter mixed with water; diarrhea, etc. sounds; watery |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 薄暗い | うすぐらい usugurai | dim; gloomy |
| 希薄 | きはく kihaku | thin (air); weak (liquid); dilute |
| 軽薄 | けいはく keihaku | frivolous; flippant; superficial |
| 薄着 | うすぎ usugi | being lightly dressed |
| 品薄 | しなうす shinausu | shortage of stock; scarcity of goods; being in short supply |
See also: Chinese symbol for “watery”.
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.