Japanese symbol for “billboard”
看板
かんばん
Romaji: kanban
signboard; sign; billboard; hoarding
In Japanese, billboard is 看板, read かんばん (kanban).
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 signboard; sign; billboard; hoarding; doorplate
- n draw; attraction; feature; highlight; spokesman; figurehead
- n reputation (of a shop); name
- n appearance; look; show
- n closing (for the day, esp. of a restaurant or bar); closing time
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “billboard”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 広告塔 | こうこくとう koukokutou | billboard; advertising tower |
| ビルボード | ビルボード biruboodo | billboard |
| 広告板 | こうこくばん koukokuban | billboard; (advertising) hoarding |
| 大看板 | おおかんばん ookanban | billboard; large signboard |
| 立て看板 | たてかんばん tatekanban | standing signboard; billboard; hoarding |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 看護 | かんご kango | nursing; (army) nurse |
| 看病 | かんびょう kanbyou | nursing (a patient) |
| 看守 | かんしゅ kanshu | prison guard; warder; jailer |
| 看過 | かんか kanka | overlooking; turning a blind eye |
| 看護婦 | かんごふ kangofu | (female) nurse |
| 黒板 | こくばん kokuban | blackboard |
| 甲板 | かんぱん kanpan | deck (of a ship) |
| 登板 | とうばん touban | taking the mound; pitching a game |
See also: Chinese symbol for “billboard”.
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.
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