Japanese symbol for “stage”
舞台
ぶたい
Romaji: butai
stage (of a theatre, concert hall, etc.)
In Japanese, stage is 舞台, read ぶたい (butai).
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 stage (of a theatre, concert hall, etc.)
- n stage performance; stage production; theatrical production; play; show
- n setting (of a story); scene
- n sphere (of activity); stage (e.g. political stage); scene; arena; world
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “stage”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 段階 | だんかい dankai | stage; step; phase |
| 時期 | じき jiki | time; season; period |
| ステージ | ステージ suteeji | stage (platform) |
| 階 | かい kai | stage (in chronostratigraphy) |
| 板 | いた ita | stage (i.e. at a theatre) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 歌舞伎 | かぶき kabuki | kabuki; traditional form of drama and music performed by male actors wearing makeup mainly in white and red |
| 見舞い | みまい mimai | visit (to someone affected by illness or misfortune); call; inquiry (about someone's health) |
| 舞踏 | ぶとう butou | dance (esp. Western style); dancing |
| 舞う | まう mau | to dance (orig. a whirling dance) |
| 舞踊 | ぶよう buyou | dancing; dance |
| 台風 | たいふう taifuu | typhoon; hurricane |
| 台湾 | たいわん taiwan | Taiwan |
| 台所 | だいどころ daidokoro | kitchen |
See also: Chinese symbol for “stage”.
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.