Japanese symbol for “hire”
雇用
こよう
Romaji: koyou
employment; hire
In Japanese, hire is 雇用, read こよう (koyou).
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, vs, vt employment; hire
Written forms: 雇用、雇傭. Readings: こよう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “hire”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 貸し | かし kashi | loan; lending; hire |
| 雇う | やとう yatou | to employ; to hire; to take on |
| 賃 | ちん chin | hire (charge); rent; charge |
| 抱える | かかえる kakaeru | to employ; to have (on one's staff); to hire |
| 借りる | かりる kariru | to rent; to hire |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 解雇 | かいこ kaiko | dismissal (of an employee); discharge; firing |
| 雇う | やとう yatou | to employ; to hire; to take on |
| 雇い主 | やといぬし yatoinushi | employer |
| 雇い | やとい yatoi | employee; employment |
| 日雇い | ひやとい hiyatoi | daily employment; hiring by the day; day laborer |
| 使用 | しよう shiyou | use; application; employment |
| 利用 | りよう riyou | use; utilization; utilisation |
| 採用 | さいよう saiyou | use; adoption; acceptance |
See also: Chinese symbol for “hire”.
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.