King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “colleague”

Romaji: nakama
companion; fellow; friend; mate

In Japanese, colleague is , read (nakama).

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 companion; fellow; friend; mate; comrade; partner
  2. n group; company; circle; set; gang
  3. n member of the same category (family, class)

Kanji and stroke order

go-between, relationship
on: チュウ
kun: なか
6 strokes · JLPT 2
interval, space
on: カン、ケン
kun: あいだ、ま、あい
12 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “colleague”

WordReadingMeaning
どうりょう douryoucoworker; co-worker; colleague
りょうゆう ryouyuucolleague; workmate; comrade
どうじん doujincoterie; clique; fraternity
どうやく douyakucolleague
しゃゆう shayuucolleague; company friend

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
なかよく nakayokuon good terms (with); on friendly terms (with); (getting along) well
ちゅうかい chuukaiagency; intermediation
なかよし nakayoshiclose friendship; close friend; good friend
ちゅうさい chuusaiarbitration; intercession; mediation
なこうど nakoudomatchmaker
じかん jikantime
にんげん ningenhuman being; human; person
きかん kikanperiod; term; interval

See also: Chinese symbol for “colleague”.

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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