Japanese symbol for “pretend”
演じる
えんじる
Romaji: enjiru
to act (a part); to play (a role)
In Japanese, pretend is 演じる, read えんじる (enjiru).
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
- v1, vt to act (a part); to play (a role)
- v1, vt to perform (a play, etc.); to put on (a production)
- v1, vt to commit (e.g. a blunder); to disgrace oneself; to do something conspicuously; to make a scene
- v1, vt to pretend (e.g. to be a good father)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “pretend”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 偽る | いつわる itsuwaru | to lie; to pretend; to feign |
| 装う | よそおう yosoou | to pretend; to feign; to affect |
| 見せかける | みせかける misekakeru | to pretend; to feign |
| 称する | しょうする shousuru | to purport (to be); to profess; to claim |
| 演ずる | えんずる enzuru | to commit (a blunder); to pretend (e.g. to be a good father); to disgrace oneself |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 出演 | しゅつえん shutsuen | appearance (in a film, play, TV show, etc.); performance |
| 公演 | こうえん kouen | public performance |
| 演奏 | えんそう ensou | musical performance |
| 演出 | えんしゅつ enshutsu | direction (of a play, film, etc.); production |
| 演技 | えんぎ engi | acting; performance |
| 講演 | こうえん kouen | lecture; address; speech |
See also: Chinese symbol for “pretend”.
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.