Japanese symbol for “nurse”
看護
かんご
Romaji: kango
nursing; (army) nurse
In Japanese, nurse is 看護, read かんご (kango).
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 nursing; (army) nurse
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “nurse”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ナース | ナース naasu | nurse |
| 看護婦 | かんごふ kangofu | (female) nurse |
| 伽 | とぎ togi | nursing; nurse; attending |
| 守役 | もりやく moriyaku | nurse; nanny; guardian |
| 看護師 | かんごし kangoshi | (hospital) nurse; registered nurse; RN |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 看板 | かんばん kanban | signboard; sign; billboard |
| 看病 | かんびょう kanbyou | nursing (a patient) |
| 看守 | かんしゅ kanshu | prison guard; warder; jailer |
| 看過 | かんか kanka | overlooking; turning a blind eye |
| 看護婦 | かんごふ kangofu | (female) nurse |
| 保護 | ほご hogo | protection; safeguard; guardianship |
| 弁護士 | べんごし bengoshi | lawyer; attorney |
| 弁護 | べんご bengo | defense; defence; pleading |
See also: Chinese symbol for “nurse”.
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.