Japanese symbol for “composing”

作文

さくもん

Romaji: sakumon

writing (poetry); composing

In Japanese, composing is 作文, read さくもん (sakumon).

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 writing (poetry); composing

Kanji and stroke order

作

make, production, prepare

on: サク、サ
kun: つく.る、つく.り、-づく.り

7 strokes · JLPT 3

文

sentence, literature, style

on: ブン、モン
kun: ふみ、あや

4 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
作る	つくる tsukuru	to make; to produce; to manufacture
作品	さくひん sakuhin	work (e.g. book, film, painting, composition); piece; production
作業	さぎょう sagyou	work; operation; task
制作	せいさく seisaku	work (film, book)
作戦	さくせん sakusen	tactics; strategy
操作	そうさ sousa	operation; management; handling
文化	ぶんか bunka	culture; civilization; civilisation
文字	もじ moji	letter (of an alphabet); character

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.