King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “pieces”

Romaji: ban
number (in a series)

In Japanese, pieces is , read (ban).

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

  1. n, n-suf number (in a series)
  2. n (one's) turn
  3. n watch; guard; lookout
  4. n-suf rank; standing; position
  5. n, n-suf bout; match (sumo)
  6. n-suf pieces (in a collection)

Kanji and stroke order

turn, number in a series
on: バン
kun: つが.い
12 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “pieces”

WordReadingMeaning
ビリビリ biribiri(tear) to pieces; (rip) apart; (rip) up
きれぎれ kiregirepieces; scraps
ずたずた zutazutato pieces; into shreds

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
いちばん ichibannumber one; first; first place
ばんぐみ bangumiprogram (e.g. TV); programme
ばんごう bangounumber; series of digits
ほんばん honbanperformance (as opposed to practice); going before an audience or on-air; take
じゅんばん junbanorder; turn
でばん debanone's turn; one's shift

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.

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