King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “programming”

Romaji: yoyaku
reservation; appointment; booking; advance order

In Japanese, programming is , read (yoyaku).

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, vs, vt reservation; appointment; booking; advance order
  2. n, vs, vt contract; subscription; pledge
  3. n, vs, vt programming (e.g. a device); setting (e.g. a timer)

Kanji and stroke order

beforehand, previous, myself
on: ヨ、シャ
kun: あらかじ.め
4 strokes · JLPT 2
promise, approximately, shrink
on: ヤク
kun: つづ.まる、つづ.める、つづま.やか
9 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “programming”

WordReadingMeaning
プログラミング puroguraminguprogramming; programing
プログラム puroguramu(computer) program; programming
コーディング koodingucoding; programming
ばんぐみへんせい bangumihenseiprogramming; programing
プログラムか puroguramukaprogramming

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
よてい yoteiplans; arrangement; schedule
よそう yosouexpectation; anticipation; prediction
よさん yosanestimate (of costs); budget
よせん yosenpreliminary contest; qualifying round; trial
よび yobireserve; spare
けいやく keiyakucontract; compact; agreement
やくそく yakusokupromise; agreement; arrangement
じょうやく jouyakutreaty; pact; convention

See also: Chinese symbol for “programming”.

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.