King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “vocation”

Romaji: shokugyou
occupation; profession; job; vocation

In Japanese, vocation is , read (shokugyou).

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

  1. n occupation; profession; job; vocation; career; trade

Kanji and stroke order

post, employment, work
on: ショク、ソク
18 strokes · JLPT 2
business, vocation, arts
on: ギョウ、ゴウ
kun: わざ
13 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “vocation”

WordReadingMeaning
てんしょく tenshokuvocation; lifework; calling
しょくぶん shokubunone's duty; vocation
てんせい tenseinaturally occurring; nature; disposition
しめいかん shimeikansense of duty; sense of purpose; vocation

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
しょくば shokubaone's post; place of work; workplace
しょくいん shokuinstaff member; employee; worker
しゅうしょく shuushokufinding employment; getting a job
たいしょく taishokuretirement; resignation
しょくにん shokunincraftsman; artisan; tradesman
きぎょう kigyouenterprise; business; company
じぎょう jigyoubusiness; enterprise; venture
えいぎょう eigyoubusiness; trade; operations

See also: Chinese symbol for “vocation”.

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.

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