Japanese symbol for “duty”
責任
せきにん
Romaji: sekinin
duty; responsibility (incl. supervision of staff)
In Japanese, duty is 責任, read せきにん (sekinin).
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 duty; responsibility (incl. supervision of staff)
- n liability; onus
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “duty”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 義務 | ぎむ gimu | duty; obligation; responsibility |
| 任務 | にんむ ninmu | duty; function; office |
| 役目 | やくめ yakume | duty; role; function |
| 役 | やく yaku | role; assignment; responsibility |
| 義理 | ぎり giri | duty; sense of duty; honor |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 責め | せめ seme | responsibility; liability; blame |
| 責務 | せきむ sekimu | duty; obligation |
| 責める | せめる semeru | to condemn; to blame; to criticize |
| 免責 | めんせき menseki | exemption from responsibility |
| 自責 | じせき jiseki | self-condemnation; self-reproach; self-accusation |
| 任務 | にんむ ninmu | duty; function; office |
| 就任 | しゅうにん shuunin | assumption (of office); taking up (a post); inauguration |
| 辞任 | じにん jinin | resignation (from a position) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “duty”.
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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