Japanese symbol for “partaking”

相伴

しょうばん

Romaji: shouban

partaking; participating; taking part in; sharing (something with someone)

In Japanese, partaking is 相伴, read しょうばん (shouban).

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, vi, vs partaking; participating; taking part in; sharing (something with someone)

Kanji and stroke order

相

inter-, mutual, together

on: ソウ、ショウ
kun: あい-

9 strokes · JLPT 2

伴

consort, accompany, bring with

on: ハン、バン
kun: ともな.う

7 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
相手	あいて aite	companion; partner; company
相談	そうだん soudan	consultation; discussion; discussing
相当	そうとう soutou	corresponding to (in meaning, function, etc.); being equivalent to
首相	しゅしょう shushou	prime minister; chancellor (Germany, Austria, etc.); premier
相互	そうご sougo	mutual; reciprocal
相撲	すもう sumou	sumo (wrestling)
伴う	ともなう tomonau	to accompany; to go hand in hand with; to be consequent upon
同伴	どうはん douhan	accompanying; being accompanied by; going with

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.