Japanese symbol for “trade”
貿易
ぼうえき
Romaji: boueki
(foreign) trade; (international) commerce; importing and exporting
In Japanese, trade is 貿易, read ぼうえき (boueki).
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, vi, vs (foreign) trade; (international) commerce; importing and exporting
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “trade”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 売買 | ばいばい baibai | trade; buying and selling; trafficking (e.g. of humans, arms, drugs) |
| 商売 | しょうばい shoubai | trade; business; commerce |
| 営業 | えいぎょう eigyou | business; trade; operations |
| 職業 | しょくぎょう shokugyou | occupation; profession; job |
| 商業 | しょうぎょう shougyou | commerce; trade; business |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 保護貿易 | ほごぼうえき hogoboueki | protective trade |
| 加工貿易 | かこうぼうえき kakouboueki | processing trade |
| 勘合貿易 | かんごうぼうえき kangouboueki | licensed trade between Japan and Ming dynasty China during the Muromachi period |
| 自由貿易 | じゆうぼうえき jiyuuboueki | free trade |
| 日米貿易 | にちべいぼうえき nichibeiboueki | trade between Japan and USA |
| 容易 | ようい youi | easy; simple; plain |
| 簡易 | かんい kan'i | simple; simplified |
| 安易 | あんい an'i | easy; simple |
See also: Chinese symbol for “trade”.
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.