Japanese symbol for “actors”

河原乞食

かわらこじき

Romaji: kawarakojiki

actors; players; riverbank beggars

In Japanese, actors is 河原乞食, read かわらこじき (kawarakojiki).

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

n actors; players; riverbank beggars

Written forms: 河原乞食、河原こじき. Readings: かわらこじき.

Kanji and stroke order

河

river

on: カ
kun: かわ

8 strokes · JLPT 2

原

meadow, original, primitive

on: ゲン
kun: はら

10 strokes · JLPT 2

乞

beg, invite, ask

on: コツ、キツ、キ、キケ
kun: こ.う

3 strokes

食

eat, food

on: ショク、ジキ
kun: く.う、く.らう、た.べる、は.む

9 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
銀河	ぎんが ginga	Milky Way
河川	かせん kasen	rivers
大河	たいが taiga	large river
河原	かわら kawara	dry riverbed; river beach
運河	うんが unga	(navigable) canal; waterway
河口	かこう kakou	mouth of river; estuary
原因	げんいん gen'in	cause; origin; source
原作	げんさく gensaku	original work
乞う	こう kou	to beg; to ask; to request
食事	しょくじ shokuji	meal (e.g. lunch, dinner)

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.