Japanese symbol for “role”
役
やく
Romaji: yaku
role; assignment; responsibility; duty
In Japanese, role is 役, read やく (yaku).
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 role; assignment; responsibility; duty; function; job
- n position (of responsibility); post; office
- n part (in a play, film, etc.); role; character
- n scoring combination; hand; yaku; meld (mahj, cards)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “role”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 役割 | やくわり yakuwari | part; assigning (allotment of) parts; role |
| 任務 | にんむ ninmu | duty; function; office |
| 役目 | やくめ yakume | duty; role; function |
| 役柄 | やくがら yakugara | role; duty; position |
| 役回り | やくまわり yakumawari | role; part; job |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 役割 | やくわり yakuwari | part; assigning (allotment of) parts; role |
| 現役 | げんえき gen'eki | active duty; active service |
| 取締役 | とりしまりやく torishimariyaku | company director; board member |
| 主役 | しゅやく shuyaku | leading part; leading actor; leading actress |
| 役者 | やくしゃ yakusha | actor; actress |
| 懲役 | ちょうえき choueki | penal servitude; imprisonment with hard labor (hard labour) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “role”.
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.