Japanese symbol for “tribe”
族
ぞく
Romaji: zoku
tribe; race; people; family
In Japanese, tribe is 族, read ぞく (zoku).
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-suf tribe; race; people; family
- n-suf group (of people who share a common feature); gang; lot; bunch
- n, n-suf tribe (taxonomic rank) (zool)
- n, n-suf group (in the periodic table) (chem)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “tribe”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 部族 | ぶぞく buzoku | tribe |
| 種族 | しゅぞく shuzoku | race; tribe; ethnic group |
| 連 | れん ren | tribe (in taxonomy) |
| 枝族 | しぞく shizoku | tribe; branch family |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 家族 | かぞく kazoku | family |
| 民族 | みんぞく minzoku | people; race; nation |
| 貴族 | きぞく kizoku | nobility; aristocracy; peerage |
| 親族 | しんぞく shinzoku | relative; relation; kin |
| 水族館 | すいぞくかん suizokukan | aquarium (building); oceanarium |
| 一族 | いちぞく ichizoku | family; relatives; dependents |
See also: Chinese symbol for “tribe”.
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.