Japanese symbol for “trilogy”

三部作

さんぶさく

Romaji: sanbusaku

trilogy

In Japanese, trilogy is 三部作, read さんぶさく (sanbusaku).

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 trilogy

Kanji and stroke order

三

three

on: サン、ゾウ
kun: み、み.つ、みっ.つ

3 strokes · JLPT 4

部

section, bureau, dept

on: ブ
kun: -べ

11 strokes · JLPT 2

作

make, production, prepare

on: サク、サ
kun: つく.る、つく.り、-づく.り

7 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
三つ	みっつ mittsu	three
三角	さんかく sankaku	triangle; triangular shape
第三者	だいさんしゃ daisansha	third party; third person; outsider
再三	さいさん saisan	again and again; repeatedly
三角形	さんかくけい sankakukei	triangle
三振	さんしん sanshin	strikeout
全部	ぜんぶ zenbu	all; entire; whole
部分	ぶぶん bubun	portion; section; part
作る	つくる tsukuru	to make; to produce; to manufacture

See also: Chinese symbol for “trilogy”.

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.