Meet 演 in words for performances and public speaking. Learn each reading together with its word and context.

The idea

演 has 14 strokes and is commonly read えん in compounds. 演じる（えんじる） means to play a role; 演奏（えんそう） refers to a musical performance, while 演説（えんぜつ） is a speech.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
演じるえんじるThe actor played the king.
演奏えんそうMy sister plays the piano.
演説えんぜつWe heard a speech at school.
演奏会えんそうかいThe concert starts at seven.
演劇えんげきThe play was interesting.

Examples

  • 俳優はいゆうは王おうを演えんじました。The actor played the king.
  • 姉あねはピアノを演奏えんそうします。My sister plays the piano.
  • 学校がっこうで演説えんぜつを聞ききました。We heard a speech at school.
  • 演奏会えんそうかいは七時しちじに始はじまります。The concert starts at seven.
  • 演劇えんげきはとても面白おもしろかったです。The play was interesting.
  • 子供こどもたちは劇げきを演えんじます。The children will perform a play.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

演じる is used for acting a role, whereas 演奏する is used for playing music. Do not use the two as interchangeable verbs.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 演じる in hiragana.

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    えんじる

    演じる is read えんじる; the ending じる is part of the verb.

  2. Write the reading of 演奏 in hiragana.

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    えんそう

    演奏 is read えんそう and refers to musical performance.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿説（えんぜつ）［演／漢］.

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    演

    演 completes 演説（えんぜつ）, a speech given to an audience.

Use it today

Write 演 following the linked stroke diagram, then cover the table and use 演奏 in a sentence.