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How to say "Obligation" or "Duty" in Japanese

If you are wondering what's the Japanese word for "Obligation" or "Duty" you've come to the right place!

the Japanese word for "Obligation" or "Duty" is "Giri", written in japanese as "義理".

Here's a more detailed explanation:

The Japanese noun '義理 (ぎり)' refers to one's moral or social obligation or duty. It encompasses the concept of doing what is right according to social norms and one's role in society. This can include fulfilling responsibilities to family, friends, or community. For example: I have an obligation to take care of my parents - (両親を世話する義理がある). She has a duty to her country - (彼女には国への義理がある).

The Kanji are characters that represent meanings. As you can see, this word is made up of 2 Kanji:

The kanji "義" means "Righteousness" and can be read as "Gi". And The kanji "理" means "Reason" and can be read as "Ri".

Now, let's make sure you understand this word the other way around too.

What does "Giri" mean in japanese?

"Giri" means "Obligation" or "Duty" .

To learn more about the kanji in this word, checkout this pages:

What is the Kanji for righteousness?What is the Kanji for reason?

If you also want to learn how to write this word in Japanese, you can checkout this page:

How to write "Obligation" or "Duty" in Japanese

To make really sure you learn this word, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this word and of the characters that comprise it.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "ぎ" is read as "gi". And The hiragana "り" is read as "ri".

About kanji, you need to know that most Kanji have two types of readings: Kunyomi, based on native japanese pronunciation. And onyomi, based on chinese pronunciation.