Japanese symbol for “public”
公共
こうきょう
Romaji: koukyou
public (facilities, service, etc.); communal
In Japanese, public is 公共, read こうきょう (koukyou).
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
- adj-no, n public (facilities, service, etc.); communal
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “public”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 社会 | しゃかい shakai | society; public; community |
| 公立 | こうりつ kouritsu | public (institution) |
| 公衆 | こうしゅう koushuu | the public; general public |
| 公的 | こうてき kouteki | public; official |
| 世 | よ yo | world; society; public |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 公開 | こうかい koukai | opening to the public; making available to the public; exhibiting |
| 公式 | こうしき koushiki | official; formal |
| 公演 | こうえん kouen | public performance |
| 公園 | こうえん kouen | (public) park |
| 公表 | こうひょう kouhyou | official announcement; proclamation |
| 共同 | きょうどう kyoudou | cooperation; collaboration; association |
| 共通 | きょうつう kyoutsuu | common; shared; mutual |
| 共に | ともに tomoni | together; jointly |
See also: Chinese symbol for “public”.
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.