1.
steam bath, sauna
A bath or room filled with steam for bathing or relaxation. Also used figuratively to describe an extremely hot and humid environment.
蒸し風呂に入る。
Take a steam bath.
真夏の電車は蒸し風呂のようだ。
The train in midsummer is like a steam bath.
エアコンが壊れて、部屋の中が蒸し風呂のような状態になってしまった。
The air conditioner broke down, and the room turned into something like a steam bath.
USAGE NOTE:
蒸し風呂 literally means "steaming bath." In everyday speech, it is very commonly used as a simile with のよう or みたい to describe unbearably hot and humid places, such as crowded trains, rooms without air conditioning, or outdoor spaces during the humid Japanese summer.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 蒸し風呂のような暑さ (heat like a steam bath)
- 蒸し風呂に入る (take a steam bath)
- 蒸し風呂状態 (steam-bath conditions)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- サウナ: sauna (dry heat sauna, loanword from Finnish)
- 岩盤浴: hot stone bath (lying on heated stones)