十八番

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
十	八	番
じゅう Grade: 1	はち Grade: 1	ばん Grade: 2
on'yomi

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑɨːha̠t͡ɕibã̠ɴ]

Proper noun

十(じゅう)八(はち)番(ばん) • (Jūhachiban) 

1. the 18 great plays of kabuki

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
十	八	番
おはこ
Grade: 1	Grade: 1	Grade: 2
jukujikun

Literally "a box", the kanji used to write it mean "number 18". From the fact that the Ichikawa family of kabuki performers would store their kabuki jūhachiban scripts in a box.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [o̞ha̠ko̞]

Noun

十八番(おはこ) • (ohako) 

1. a special talent or skill that one is good at
2. an act or expression that one often does

Descendants

• → Korean: 십팔번 (sip'palbeon)

References

• “十八番”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2025