Japanese symbol for “people”
国民
こくみん
Romaji: kokumin
people (of a country); nation; citizen; national
In Japanese, people is 国民, read こくみん (kokumin).
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 people (of a country); nation; citizen; national
- n Democratic Party for the People
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “people”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 人々 | ひとびと hitobito | people; men and women |
| 民族 | みんぞく minzoku | people; race; nation |
| 方々 | かたがた katagata | people; (all) persons; everyone |
| 民 | たみ tami | people; citizens; subjects |
| 人民 | じんみん jinmin | the people; citizens; the populace |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 全国 | ぜんこく zenkoku | the whole country |
| 国内 | こくない kokunai | within the country; inside the county; domestic |
| 国家 | こっか kokka | state; country; nation |
| 国際 | こくさい kokusai | international |
| 外国 | がいこく gaikoku | foreign country |
| 市民 | しみん shimin | citizen (of a country); citizenry |
| 住民 | じゅうみん juumin | inhabitant; resident; citizen |
| 民間 | みんかん minkan | private; non-governmental; non-official |
See also: Chinese symbol for “people”.
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.