蒸
蒸 — Steam
steam, heat, sultry, foment, get musty
On’yomiジョウ (jou)
On’yomiセイ (sei)
Kun’yomiむす (musu)
Kun’yomiむれる (mureru)
Kun’yomiむらす (murasu)
Stroke order (13 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 蒸
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 蒸気 | じょうき jouki | steam; vapour; vapor |
| 蒸かす | ふかす fukasu | to steam (food) |
| 蒸し暑い | むしあつい mushiatsui | humid; sultry |
| 蒸す | むす musu | to steam (food, towel, etc.); to be hot and humid; to be sultry |
| 蒸発 | じょうはつ jouhatsu | evaporation; disappearance (of a person); vanishing without a trace |
| 水蒸気 | すいじょうき suijouki | water vapour; water vapor; steam |
Study notes
蒸 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 13 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1552 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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