King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “acting”

Romaji: engi
acting; performance

In Japanese, acting is , read (engi).

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

  1. n, vi, vs acting; performance

Kanji and stroke order

performance, act, play
on: エン
14 strokes · JLPT 2
skill, art, craft
on: ギ
kun: わざ
7 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “acting”

WordReadingMeaning
しぐさ shigusaacting; performance
こころえ kokoroedeputy; acting
しょさ shosaperformance (on stage, etc.); dance; acting
アクティング akutinguacting

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
しゅつえん shutsuenappearance (in a film, play, TV show, etc.); performance
こうえん kouenpublic performance
えんそう ensoumusical performance
えんしゅつ enshutsudirection (of a play, film, etc.); production
こうえん kouenlecture; address; speech
ぎじゅつ gijutsutechnology; engineering
きょうぎ kyougigame; match; contest
ぎのう ginoutechnical skill; ability; capacity

See also: Chinese symbol for “acting”.

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.

Last posts

  1. Buying a Wooden Jian for Beginners
  2. Choosing a Bokken with Scabbard for Iaido Beginners
  3. Is a Plastic Saya Worth Adding to a Bokken for Drawing?
  4. Choosing the Best Aikido Bokken for Daily Training
  5. Choosing the Best Heavy Bokken for Suburi Training
  6. Are Bamboo Practice Swords Safer Than Wooden Ones
  7. Choosing the Best Wooden Sword Stand for Your Collection
  8. Why Bokken Crack and Which Woods Handle Impact Best
  9. Best Bokken Bags and Cases for Martial Arts Training
  10. Choosing the Best Wooden Tanto for Realistic Knife Drills