King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “endeavor”

Romaji: doryoku
effort; exertion; endeavour; endeavor

In Japanese, endeavor is , read (doryoku).

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, vi, vs effort; exertion; endeavour; endeavor; hard work; striving

Kanji and stroke order

toil, diligent, as much as possible
on: ド
kun: つと.める
7 strokes · JLPT 2
power, strength, strong
on: リョク、リキ、リイ
kun: ちから
2 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “endeavor”

WordReadingMeaning
つとめる tsutomeruto endeavor (to do); to endeavour; to try hard
こころがける kokorogakeruto keep in mind; to bear in mind; to try
はげむ hagemuto work hard; to try hard; to strive

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
つとめる tsutomeruto endeavor (to do); to endeavour; to try hard
つとめて tsutometeas much as possible; as far as possible; to the best of one's ability
どりょくか doryokukahard worker; hardworking person
どりょくしょう doryokushouprize awarded for good effort; consolation prize
ふんれいどりょく funreidoryokumaking strenuous efforts; exerting oneself
きょうりょく kyouryokucooperation; collaboration; help
のうりょく nouryokuability; faculty
みりょく miryokucharm; fascination; glamour

See also: Chinese symbol for “endeavor”.

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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