Japanese symbol for “performance”
本番
ほんばん
Romaji: honban
performance (as opposed to practice); going before an audience or on-air; take
In Japanese, performance is 本番, read ほんばん (honban).
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 performance (as opposed to practice); going before an audience or on-air; take
- n game; match
- n high of the season; height (of summer, etc.); actual event (or celebration, etc.); real deal
- n penetrative vaginal sex (with a prostitute); unsimulated sex (in an adult movie)
- n production environment (comp)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “performance”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 出演 | しゅつえん shutsuen | appearance (in a film, play, TV show, etc.); performance |
| 上演 | じょうえん jouen | performance (of a play, opera, etc.); staging; presentation |
| 性能 | せいのう seinou | ability; performance; efficiency |
| 演技 | えんぎ engi | acting; performance |
| 執行 | しっこう shikkou | execution; carrying out; performance |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 日本 | にほん nihon | Japan |
| 基本 | きほん kihon | basics; fundamentals; basis |
| 本当 | ほんとう hontou | truth; reality; actuality |
| 本人 | ほんにん honnin | the person in question; the person themselves; said person |
| 本来 | ほんらい honrai | originally; primarily |
| 本気 | ほんき honki | seriousness; earnestness; truth |
| 一番 | いちばん ichiban | number one; first; first place |
| 番組 | ばんぐみ bangumi | program (e.g. TV); programme |
See also: Chinese symbol for “performance”.
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.