King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “certificate”

Romaji: menkyo
license; licence; permission; permit

In Japanese, certificate is , read (menkyo).

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, vs, vt license; licence; permission; permit; certificate
  2. n driver's license

Kanji and stroke order

excuse, dismissal
on: メン
kun: まぬか.れる、まぬが.れる
8 strokes · JLPT 1
permit, approve
on: キョ
kun: ゆる.す、もと
11 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “certificate”

WordReadingMeaning
しょうけん shoukenbond; bill; certificate
けん kenticket; coupon; bond
しょうしょ shoushodocument (of proof); certificate; paper
てちょう techoucertificate
おすみつき osumitsukicertificate; certified document; authorization

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
めんえき men'ekiimmunity; immunization; immunisation
めんぜい menzeitax exemption; duty exemption
めんじょ menjoexemption; exoneration; discharge
まぬがれる manugareruto escape (disaster, death, etc.); to be saved from; to be rescued from
めんせき mensekiexemption from responsibility
きょか kyokapermission; approval; authorization
ゆるす yurusuto permit; to allow; to approve
とっきょ tokkyopatent

See also: Chinese symbol for “certificate”.

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.