Japanese symbol for “representing”

代弁

だいべん

Romaji: daiben

speaking by proxy; speaking for (someone else); acting as spokesman (for); representing (the views, feelings, etc. of)

In Japanese, representing is 代弁, read だいべん (daiben).

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, vs, vt speaking by proxy; speaking for (someone else); acting as spokesman (for); representing (the views, feelings, etc. of)
n, vs, vt payment by proxy; compensation by proxy; paying on behalf (of)
n, vs, vt acting for (someone else); carrying out (on someone's behalf)

Written forms: 代弁、代辨、代辯. Readings: だいべん.

Kanji and stroke order

代

substitute, change, convert

on: ダイ、タイ
kun: か.わる、かわ.る、かわ.り、か.わり

5 strokes · JLPT 3

弁

valve, petal, braid

on: ベン、ヘン
kun: かんむり、わきま.える、わ.ける、はなびら

5 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “representing”

Word	Reading	Meaning
レペゼン	レペゼン repezen	representing (one's hometown, region, etc.; in hip-hop culture); repping

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
時代	じだい jidai	period; epoch; era
代表	だいひょう daihyou	representation; representative; delegate
現代	げんだい gendai	present age; present day; contemporary
代わり	かわり kawari	substitute; replacement; substituting
世代	せだい sedai	generation
年代	ねんだい nendai	age; era; period
弁護士	べんごし bengoshi	lawyer; attorney
弁当	べんとう bentou	bento; Japanese box lunch

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.