Japanese symbol for “prelude”
序曲
じょきょく
Romaji: jokyoku
overture; prelude
In Japanese, prelude is 序曲, read じょきょく (jokyoku).
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 overture; prelude
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “prelude”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 前奏 | ぜんそう zensou | prelude; overture |
| プレリュード | プレリュード pureryuudo | prelude |
| 前奏曲 | ぜんそうきょく zensoukyoku | prelude; overture |
| 前哨戦 | ぜんしょうせん zenshousen | prelude; preliminary encounter; warm-up match (e.g. before a final) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 秩序 | ちつじょ chitsujo | order; discipline; regularity |
| 順序 | じゅんじょ junjo | order; sequence |
| 序盤 | じょばん joban | opening (in a game of go, chess, etc.) |
| 序列 | じょれつ joretsu | rank; ranking order; hierarchy |
| 序文 | じょぶん jobun | preface; foreword; introduction |
| 作曲 | さっきょく sakkyoku | composition (of music); setting; writing music |
| 曲線 | きょくせん kyokusen | curve |
| 楽曲 | がっきょく gakkyoku | musical composition; tune |
See also: Chinese symbol for “prelude”.
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.