Japanese symbol for “workhorse”
駄馬
だば
Romaji: daba
packhorse; workhorse; hack
In Japanese, workhorse is 駄馬, read だば (daba).
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 packhorse; workhorse; hack
Written forms: 駄馬. Readings: だば、だうま.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 無駄 | むだ muda | futility; waste; uselessness |
| 駄目 | だめ dame | no good; not serving its purpose; useless |
| 無駄遣い | むだづかい mudazukai | waste (of money, time, etc.); squandering; frittering away |
| 駄菓子 | だがし dagashi | penny candy; cheap individually wrapped sweets |
| 下駄 | げた geta | geta; traditional Japanese wooden sandal |
| 駄作 | ださく dasaku | poor piece of work; rubbish; trash |
| 競馬 | けいば keiba | horse racing |
| 馬鹿 | ばか baka | idiot; moron; fool |
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.