How to say "infusion" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 煎せんnoun, suffix, counterThe tea sense: infusing tea leaves and the resulting brew. A less common word, tied to tea rather than medicine; the medicinal senses of 'infusion' call for other words.
- nounThe katakana borrowing of the English word. Unlike the native alternatives, it is not tied to tea or medicine; use it where an English loanword feels natural, though it is itself less common.
- 浸剤しんざいnounThe medicinal sense: a pharmaceutical word for an infusion made by steeping a medicinal herb. Use it when 'infusion' means a medicine rather than a beverage; it is not a word for tea.
- 振り出し薬ふりだしぐすりnounAn infusion in the sense of a remedy: a medicine prepared by steeping, taken to treat a complaint. A less common word; for the plain medicinal sense, 浸剤 is the more precise term.
- 煎じ薬せんじぐすりnounPrimarily a medical decoction — a medicine made by boiling herbs down — with 'infusion' as a secondary rendering; for a steeped infusion it is seldom the word you want.
Choose by sense: 煎 for infusing tea, 浸剤 for a medicinal infusion, 「振り出し薬」 for an infusion taken as a remedy, 「煎じ薬」 chiefly for a decoction, and the loanword 「インフュージョン」 where an English borrowing fits.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
