煎(せん)じる

せんじる
verb (ichidan)
to decoct; to boil down; to brew (herbs, tea)
他動詞 transitivefoodhealth
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present煎(せん)じる煎(せん)じない
Present polite煎(せん)じます煎(せん)じません
Past煎(せん)じた煎(せん)じなかった
Past polite煎(せん)じました煎(せん)じませんでした
て form煎(せん)じて煎(せん)じなくて
ている present煎(せん)じている煎(せん)じていない
ている polite煎(せん)じています煎(せん)じていません
ている past煎(せん)じていた煎(せん)じていなかった
ている past polite煎(せん)じていました煎(せん)じていませんでした
Conditional ば煎(せん)じれば煎(せん)じなければ
Conditional たら煎(せん)じたら煎(せん)じなかったら
Volitional煎(せん)じよう—
Volitional polite煎(せん)じましょう—
Potential煎(せん)じられる煎(せん)じられない
Passive煎(せん)じられる煎(せん)じられない
Causative煎(せん)じさせる煎(せん)じさせない
Imperative煎(せん)じろ煎(せん)じるな
1. to decoct; to boil down; to brew (herbs, tea)
To extract the essence of herbs, medicinal plants, or tea leaves by simmering them in water. Associated with traditional herbal medicine and tea preparation.
薬草(やくそう)を煎(せん)じて飲(の)む。
I decoct medicinal herbs and drink them.
My grandmother would brew medicine for me when I had a cold.
It is important to decoct Chinese herbal medicine over low heat only for the prescribed time.

Refers to simmering herbs, medicinal plants, or tea in water to draw out their active components. Strongly associated with 漢方(かんぽう) (traditional Chinese herbal medicine).

Common collocations

The idiom 爪(つめ)の垢(あか)を煎(せん)じて飲(の)む means to imitate an admirable person, wishing one had their good qualities.

Similar words

  • 煮出(にだ)す: to extract by boiling — close in meaning, used more for tea and broth
  • 淹(い)れる: to brew (tea, coffee) — for ordinary steeping, not medicinal decoction