Japanese symbol for “beckon”
招く
まねく
Romaji: maneku
to invite; to ask
In Japanese, beckon is 招く, read まねく (maneku).
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
- v5k, vt to invite; to ask
- v5k, vt to beckon; to wave someone in; to gesture to
- v5k, vt to call in; to send for; to summon
- v5k, vt to bring on oneself; to cause; to incur; to lead to; to result in
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “beckon”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 手招く | てまねく temaneku | to beckon |
| 差し招く | さしまねく sashimaneku | to beckon (to); to invite |
| 招き寄せる | まねきよせる manekiyoseru | to gesture to come closer; to beckon; to call |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 招待 | しょうたい shoutai | invitation |
| 招き | まねき maneki | invitation |
| 招致 | しょうち shouchi | invitation; summons; bidding (e.g. to host the Olympics) |
| 招集 | しょうしゅう shoushuu | call; summons; convening |
| 手招き | てまねき temaneki | beckoning |
See also: Chinese symbol for “beckon”.
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.