Japanese symbol for “work”
仕事
しごと
Romaji: shigoto
work; job; labor; labour
In Japanese, work is 仕事, read しごと (shigoto).
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 work; job; labor; labour; business; task
- n work (physics)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “work”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 作品 | さくひん sakuhin | work (e.g. book, film, painting, composition); piece; production |
| 作業 | さぎょう sagyou | work; operation; task |
| 制作 | せいさく seisaku | work (film, book) |
| 作 | さく saku | work (e.g. of art); piece; production |
| 働き | はたらき hataraki | work; labor; labour |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 仕方 | しかた shikata | way; method; means |
| 仕組み | しくみ shikumi | structure; construction; arrangement |
| 仕上げ | しあげ shiage | finish; finishing; finishing touches |
| 奉仕 | ほうし houshi | service; ministry; attendance |
| 仕様 | しよう shiyou | way; method; means |
| 事件 | じけん jiken | event; affair; incident |
| 記事 | きじ kiji | article; news story; report |
| 事業 | じぎょう jigyou | business; enterprise; venture |
See also: Chinese symbol for “work”.
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.