務 — “duty / service” in Japanese

Grade 5む, つと

Radical ⼒ · radical 19 The building block this kanji is filed under

“duty / service” in Japanese is 務, read mu, tsuto (む, つと). It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 公務員 (civil servant).

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What does 務 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	務
Meaning	duty / service
Readings	む, つと
Grade	Grade 5 (Hard)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	公務員 (civil servant)

How to read 務

務 is read mu (む) or tsuto (つと) depending on the word.

Words with 務

義務
勤務
公務員

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Kanji read the same way as 務

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28