Kanji Study

Bushu (Radical) Info: 彳 (ぎょうにんべん) – going man

Henshall Mnemonic: move off with weapon in hand to do one's duty

Levels: JLPT N3 | JLPT 2 (old) | Grade 3
Frequency: #315 of the 2500 most used kanji in newspapers

Common Words and/or Phrases Using this Kanji:

Click any individual kanji to view a similar information sheet for it.
Click [K] to look up the word's individual character(s) at WWWJDIC.
Click [D] to look up the word at WWWJDIC (definition is the same but other useful features exist).
Click [Jisho] to look up the word at Jisho.org.

JLPT N4 Words

• 役に立つ   [やくにたつ]
  (v5t) to be helpful; to be useful   [K] [D] [Jisho]

JLPT N3 Words

• 役   [やく]
  (n,n-suf) use; service; role; position   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 役割   [やくわり]
  (n) part; assigning (allotment of) parts; role; duties   [K] [D] [Jisho]

JLPT N2 Words

• 主役   [しゅやく]
  (n) leading part; leading actor (actress)   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 重役   [じゅうやく]
  (n) director; high executive   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 役者   [やくしゃ]
  (n) actor; actress   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 役所   [やくしょ]
  (n) government office; public office   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 役人   [やくにん]
  (n) government official   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 役目   [やくめ]
  (n) duty; business   [K] [D] [Jisho]

JLPT N1 Words

• 役立つ   [やくだつ]
  (v5t) to be useful; to be helpful; to serve the purpose   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 役場   [やくば]
  (n) town hall   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 役職   [やくしょく]
  (n) post; managerial position; official position   [K] [D] [Jisho]

Other Popular Words Not Classified by JLPT

• 服役   [ふくえき]
  (n) penal servitude; military service   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 当たり役   [あたりやく]
  (n) successful role   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 取締役   [とりしまりやく]
  (n) company director; board member   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 取締役会   [とりしまりやくかい]
  (n) (1) board of directors; (2) board of directors' meeting   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 大役   [たいやく]
  (n) important task or role or duty   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 悪役   [あくやく]
  (n) villain; baddie; the villain's part   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 助役   [じょやく]
  (n) assistant official   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 市役所   [しやくしょ]
  (n) municipal office; council; city hall   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 火付け役   [ひつけやく]
  (n) instigator; troublemaker   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 町役場   [まちやくば]
  (n) town hall   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 配役   [はいやく]
  (n) cast (of a play)   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 代役   [だいやく]
  (n) important mission; heavy role; substitute actor; stand-in; double   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 兵役   [へいえき]
  (n) military service; conscription   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 相談役   [そうだんやく]
  (n) counselor; adviser   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 三役   [さんやく]
  (n) three highest ranks (wrestling, unions, etc)   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 懲役   [ちょうえき]
  (n) penal servitude; imprisonment with hard labor   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 子役   [こやく]
  (n) dramatic role for child; child actor   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 現役   [げんえき]
  (n) active duty; active service   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 区役所   [くやくしょ]
  (n) ward office; council (regional)   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 役に立たない   [やくにたたない]
  (exp) be of no avail; be useless   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 役員   [やくいん]
  (n) officer; official; executive; staff   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 役回り   [やくまわり]
  (n) role; part; (unpleasant) duty   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 監査役   [かんさやく]
  (n) auditor; inspector   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 退役   [たいえき]
  (n,vs) retiring from military service   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 脇役   [わきやく]
  (n) supporting role (actor); minor role   [K] [D] [Jisho]

Find more details for 役 at jisho.org, Yookoso! or WWWJDIC

Acknowledgments

The sofware used to generate this kanji information uses the EDICT and KANJIDIC files. These files are the property of the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group at Monash University and are used in conformance with the Group's license.

NOTE: I converted the sources just mentioned years ago and have never really updated so there may be some missing or incorrect information that has been addressed in the original sources but not here.

The first Stroke Order image used on this page is courtesy of Ulrich Apel's excellent open source KanjiVG project. The second image is from the folks at the excellent Jisho Japanese-English dictionary site and it too is based on KanjiVG.

Classifying the kanji and popular vocabulary by the new JLPT levels was done by consulting Jonathan Waller‘s JLPT Resources page, renshuu, Wictionary, and Nihongo Ichiban.

The Henshall Mnemonics are the copyright of Tuttle Publishing and are the result of the hard work by Professor Henshall. See the list I used here.

If you are curious about the lexicography shown in the word definitions, visit the WWWJDIC abbreviations and codes guide and the JMdict/Edict Lexicographical details page.