| 役割 | やくわり | part; assigning (allotment of) parts; role; duties | n2 |
| 役 | やく | role; assignment; responsibility; duty | n2 |
| 役立つ | やくだつ | to be useful; to be helpful; to serve the purpose | n2 |
| 役に立つ | やくにたつ | to be helpful; to be useful | n4 |
| 役目 | やくめ | duty; role; function | n2 |
| 役人 | やくにん | government official | |
| 役者 | やくしゃ | actor; actress; man of wits; clever person | n1 |
| 役立てる | やくだてる | to put to use; to make use of; to turn to account | n2 |
| 役所 | やくしょ | government office; public office | n3 |
| 現役 | げんえき | active duty; active service; student taking (university) entrance exams while still enrolled in school; student who passed their university entrance exams on the first try | n1 |
| 取締役 | とりしまりやく | company director; board member | |
| 役員 | やくいん | director; executive; officer; official | n1 |
| 役職 | やくしょく | post; official position; managerial position; executive position | n1 |
| 主役 | しゅやく | leading part; leading actor; leading actress | n2 |
| 上役 | うわやく | one's superior; higher-up; boss; senior | |
| 重役 | じゅうやく | (company) director; executive; top management; important post | n2 |
| 懲役 | ちょうえき | penal servitude; imprisonment with hard labor (hard labour) | |
| 代表取締役 | だいひょうとりしまりやく | representative director; managing director; president; someone chosen by the board of directors from among the directors to actually represent the company in its dealings with the outside world | |
| 役場 | やくば | town hall | |
| 市役所 | しやくしょ | municipal office; council; city hall | n3 |
| 荷役 | にやく | handling cargo; loading and unloading; cargo work | |
| 使役 | しえき | setting (someone) to work; employment; using; causative | |
| 町役人 | まちやくにん | Edo-period official of the chōnin social class; town official | |
| 兵役 | へいえき | military service; conscription | |
| 取締役会 | とりしまりやくかい | board of directors; board of directors' meeting | |
| 下役 | したやく | underling; subordinate official | |
| 区役所 | くやくしょ | ward office; council (regional) | |
| 一役 | ひとやく | role (which someone or something plays in a given situation); part; contribution (to a given situation) | n1 |
| 労役 | ろうえき | physical labor (esp. forced); strenuous manual labor; toil | |
| 戦役 | せんえき | military campaign; battle; war | |
| 監査役 | かんさやく | auditor; inspector | |
| 大役 | たいやく | important task; important role; great duty; important mission | n1 |
| 村役場 | むらやくば | village office; local administration office in a village | |
| 役柄 | やくがら | role; duty; position; part | n1 |
| 顔役 | かおやく | influential man; boss | |
| 雑役 | ざつえき | chore; odd job | |
| 夫役 | ふえき | slave labour; slave labor; compulsory service; forced labour | |
| 小役人 | こやくにん | petty official | |
| 同役 | どうやく | colleague | |
| 役割分担 | やくわりぶんたん | division (distribution) of roles; role-sharing | |
| 助役 | じょやく | assistant official | |
| 服役 | ふくえき | penal servitude; serving time in prison; military service; forced labor | |
| 役宅 | やくたく | government housing for officials | |
| 役得 | やくとく | perquisite; perk; side benefit; emoluments | |
| 敵役 | かたきやく | role of the villain; the bad guy | |
| 子役 | こやく | child actor; child actress; child's role (in a film, play, etc.); child's part | |
| 配役 | はいやく | casting (of a play, film, etc.); cast | n2 |
| 就役 | しゅうえき | being placed on duty; going into commission (of a warship, freighter, etc.); being placed in commission | n1 |
| 悪役 | あくやく | villain; baddie; the villain's part | |
| 役だつ | やくだつ | to be useful; to be helpful; to serve the purpose | n2 |
| 退役 | たいえき | retiring from military service | |
| 立役 | たちやく | leading male role | |
| 懲役刑 | ちょうえきけい | jail sentence; imprisonment | |
| 相談役 | そうだんやく | counselor; counsellor; adviser; advisor | |
| 端役 | はやく | minor role; small part | |
| 能役者 | のうやくしゃ | noh actor | |
| 代役 | だいやく | substitute (actor); stand-in; fill-in; understudy | n1 |
| 苦役 | くえき | toil; drudgery; penal servitude; imprisonment (with hard labour) | n1 |
| 執行役員 | しっこうやくいん | operating officer; company executive | |
| 役職名 | やくしょくめい | job title; name of one's position | |
| 社外取締役 | しゃがいとりしまりやく | outside director; independent director | |
| 役務 | えきむ | labor; labour; service | |
| 賦役 | ふえき | slave labour; slave labor; compulsory service; forced labour | |
| 社外監査役 | しゃがいかんさやく | external auditor | |
| 予備役 | よびえき | service in the first reserve | |
| 役満 | やくマン | yakuman; win worth 32000 points (or, if dealer, 48000 points) | |
| 役僧 | やくそう | priest in charge of a temple's clerical duties | |
| 役不足 | やくぶそく | dissatisfaction with the work (role) given to one; feeling oneself above the given work (role); not up to the task; (being) out of one's depth | |
| 役する | えきする | to set (citizens) to work; to employ (by force); to use | |
| 役儀 | やくぎ | role; duty; responsibility | |
| 役名 | やくめい | official title | |
| 脇役 | わきやく | supporting role (actor); minor role | |
| 立役者 | たてやくしゃ | leading actor; star; leading figure; central figure | |
| 旅役者 | たびやくしゃ | itinerant entertainer or troupe | |
| 書役 | かきやく | clerk; secretary; scribe; copyist | |
| 役者絵 | やくしゃえ | actor print; yakusha-e; ukiyo-e print of kabuki actors | |
| 三役 | さんやく | three highest ranks (wrestling, unions, etc.); three parts; three divisions | |
| 役どころ | やくどころ | assigned role; duty; position; suitable role | |
| 聞き役 | ききやく | listener's role | |
| 千両役者 | せんりょうやくしゃ | star (actor); prima donna; leading figure | |
| 役付 | やくづき | holding a position of responsibility; person holding a responsible position; managerial position | |
| 男役 | おとこやく | male part or role | |
| 相役 | あいやく | colleague | |
| 後備役 | こうびえき | service in the second reserve; military reserve force comprised of ex-servicemen | |
| 役向き | やくむき | nature of one's position | |
| 軍役 | ぐんえき | military service | |
| 進行役 | しんこうやく | facilitator; programme director; steering committee (chair) | |
| 守役 | もりやく | nurse; nanny; guardian | |
| 交渉役 | こうしょうやく | negotiator; deal-maker | |
| 兵役法 | へいえきほう | Military Service Law (1927-1945) | |
| 課役 | かえき | distribution of assignments | |
| 公役 | こうえき | public service | n1 |
| 適役 | てきやく | being suited to a role; being the right person for the job; suitable role; suitable position | |
| 役員報酬 | やくいんほうしゅう | officer's compensation or remuneration | |
| 常務取締役 | じょうむとりしまりやく | managing director | |
| 難役 | なんやく | difficult role | |
| 憎まれ役 | にくまれやく | thankless role; ungracious part | |
| 無期懲役 | むきちょうえき | life imprisonment; imprisonment for life; indefinite imprisonment | |
| 免役 | めんえき | release from office; military service, or prison | n1 |
| 役付き | やくづき | holding a position of responsibility; person holding a responsible position; managerial position | |
| 役替え | やくがえ | change of post | |
| 共役 | きょうやく | conjugation; conjugate | |
| 側役 | そばやく | personal attendant | |
| 執行役 | しっこうやく | executive officer | |
| 役員会 | やくいんかい | board or officer's meeting | |
| 役回り | やくまわり | role; part; job; assignment | |
| 現役時代 | げんえきじだい | active career; one's working life; the years before one retired; playing days | |
| 徭役 | ようえき | statute-labor service (ritsuryō period); socage | |
| 世話役 | せわやく | manager; caretaker | |
| 指南役 | しなんやく | instructor | |
| 町役場 | まちやくば | town hall | |
| 補佐役 | ほさやく | assistant; adjunct; lieutenant | |
| 出役 | しゅつやく | travelling for work; taking part in group work; practice of government officials taking on a temporary secondary role (Edo period) | |
| 初役 | はつやく | first role | |
| 郡役所 | ぐんやくしょ | county offices | |
| はまり役 | はまりやく | well-suited role | |
| 現役合格 | げんえきごうかく | passing university entrance exams in the last year of high school (instead of failing then taking gap year(s)) | |
| 牢役人 | ろうやくにん | (Edo-period) jail warden; jailer | |
| 監査役会 | かんさやくかい | board of company auditors | |
| わき役 | わきやく | supporting role (actor); minor role | |
| 現役選手 | げんえきせんしゅ | active player; player on the active list | |
| 名脇役 | めいわきやく | excellent supporting role; outstanding supporting actor | |
| 役割語 | やくわりご | role language | |
| 見張り役 | みはりやく | person standing watch; guard duty | |
| 手役 | てやく | scoring combination in one's dealt hand (i.e. at the start of a game); meld in a starting hand | |
| 地役権 | ちえきけん | easement | |
| 相手役 | あいてやく | opposing role; partner | |
| 二役 | ふたやく | dual role (in a film, play, etc.); double role | |
| 女役 | おんなやく | female role (e.g. in film); female part; occupation deemed fit for a woman; passive role in a male homosexual relationship | |
| 歳役 | さいえき | labor system in which able-bodied men were required to work for periods in the capital (ritsuryō system) | |
| 使役形 | しえきけい | causative form | |
| 公証役場 | こうしょうやくば | notary public's office | |
| 名題役者 | なだいやくしゃ | chief actor in a kabuki play; star actor; leading actors of a troupe | |
| 火付け役 | ひつけやく | instigator; originator; initiator; torch bearer | |
| 中心的役割 | ちゅうしんてきやくわり | central role | |
| 取締役副社長 | とりしまりやくふくしゃちょう | executive vice-president | |
| 力役 | りきえき | physical labor; physical labour; physical work; forced labor imposed by the government (e.g. under the ritsuryō system) | |
| 用役 | ようえき | service | |
| 仲介役 | ちゅうかいやく | mediator; go-between; middleman; broker | |
| 性役割 | せいやくわり | gender role; sex role | |
| 案内役 | あんないやく | guide; host | |
| 老け役 | ふけやく | (theatrical) role of old person | |
| 引立て役 | ひきたてやく | person who makes someone else appear better; foil | |
| 役職手当 | やくしょくてあて | executive allowance | |
| 取締役会長 | とりしまりやくかいちょう | chairman of board of directors | |
| 教師役 | きょうしやく | teacher (role) | |
| 現役生 | げんえきせい | student taking (university) entrance exams while still enrolled in school; student who passed their university entrance exams on the first try | |
| 調整役 | ちょうせいやく | coordinator; coordinating role | |
| 現役世代 | げんえきせだい | working generation; people still working | |
| 立て役者 | たてやくしゃ | leading actor; star; leading figure; central figure | |
| 娘役 | むすめやく | female part or role (drama, kabuki, etc.) | |
| 役牌 | やくはい | value honor; round wind, seat wind, and dragon tiles; winning hand containing one kong (or pung) of a value honor | |
| 嵌り役 | はまりやく | well-suited role | |
| 役作り | やくづくり | study (for a role); preparation for a part (in a play, etc.) | |
| 雑役夫 | ざつえきふ | handyman | |
| 在役 | ざいえき | being in prison; being incarcerated; being in the military | |
| 無役 | むやく | lacking a role; lacking a post; lacking a position; duty-free | |
| お役目 | おやくめ | (public) duty | |
| 主人役 | しゅじんやく | host; toastmaster | |
| 労役場 | ろうえきじょう | prison labor camp; prison labour camp | |
| 女房役 | にょうぼうやく | assistant; right-hand man; subordinate; wifely role | |
| 引立役 | ひきたてやく | person who makes someone else appear better; foil | |
| 兵役義務 | へいえきぎむ | compulsory military service | |
| 緞帳役者 | どんちょうやくしゃ | low-class actor (kabuki); actor who plays in low-class or cheap theater | |
| 役畜 | えきちく | beasts of burden | |
| 聞役 | ききやく | listener's role | |
| 牽引役 | けんいんやく | leading force; driving force; leader | |
| パイプ役 | パイプやく | go-between; intermediary; mediator | |
| 人気役者 | にんきやくしゃ | stage favorite; stage favourite; star | |
| 常備兵役 | じょうびへいえき | active and (first) reserve duty | |
| 当たり役 | あたりやく | successful role | |
| 火消し役 | ひけしやく | firefighter (Edo period); problem-solver; troubleshooter; fireman | |
| 花形役者 | はながたやくしゃ | leading actor; star actress; top-billed performer | |
| 傍役 | わきやく | supporting role (actor); minor role | |
| 役牛 | えきぎゅう | work cow; work cattle | |
| 使役犬 | しえきけん | working dog | |
| 吟味役 | ぎんみやく | auditor (Edo period); examiner; inquisitor; investigator | |
| 毒見役 | どくみやく | food taster | |
| 汚れ役 | よごれやく | role of a villain (film, drama, etc.); bad-guy role; social outcast role | |
| お目付役 | おめつけやく | watchdog; chaperone; watcher | |
| まとめ役 | まとめやく | mediator; peacemaker; troubleshooter; manager | |
| 喜劇役者 | きげきやくしゃ | comic actor; comedian; comic performer | |
| 役員人事 | やくいんじんじ | change of company director; reassignment of executives | |
| 役所仕事 | やくしょしごと | red tape; red-tapism; officialism; bureaucratic bungling | |
| お目付け役 | おめつけやく | watchdog; chaperone; watcher | |
| 専務取締役 | せんむとりしまりやく | (senior) managing director | |
| 引き立て役 | ひきたてやく | person who makes someone else appear better; foil | |
| 役割り | やくわり | part; assigning (allotment of) parts; role; duties | n2 |
| 囚役 | しゅうえき | prison labor; prison labour | n1 |
| 仮役 | かりやく | temporary post | |
| 加役 | かやく | temporary extra work | |
| 役夫 | えきふ | laborer; labourer | |
| 党役員 | とうやくいん | party officer | |
| 審判役 | しんぱんやく | umpire; referee | |
| 書き役 | かきやく | clerk; secretary; scribe; copyist | |
| 火消役 | ひけしやく | firefighter (Edo period); problem-solver; troubleshooter; fireman | |
| ヒール役 | ヒールやく | (role of) heel (in wrestling, films, etc.); bad guy | |
| 上がり役 | あがりやく | winning hand | |
| 付き添い役 | つきそいやく | attendant; best man (at a wedding); groomsman; maid of honor | |
| 取締役社長 | とりしまりやくしゃちょう | managing director; president of a company (US) | |
| 関東取締出役 | かんとうとりしまりでやく | Kantō patrol inspector; Kantō regional inspector; law-enforcement post established by the Edo shogunate, tasked with policing the Kantō region | |
| 役にたつ | やくにたつ | to be helpful; to be useful | n4 |
| 先役 | せんやく | former post; former occupant of the post | n1 |
| 儲役 | もうけやく | lucrative position | |
| 場役 | ばやく | scoring combination made with captured cards; meld | |
| 壁役 | かべやく | catchers who warm up pitchers in the bullpen; tank (character that soaks up damage for the rest of the party in an MMORPG) | |
| 役代 | やくだい | points awarded for scoring combinations | |
| 役札 | やくふだ | card that can be used to make a scoring combination | |
| 役責 | やくせき | role and responsibility | |
| 月役 | つきやく | menstruation; menses; period | |
| 竿役 | さおやく | character in erotica with a mainly penetrative role | |
| ぬけ役 | ぬけやく | scoring combination in a dealt hand that becomes worth more at the end of the game if the player's total score is above 88 | |
| 三役格 | さんやくかく | referee officiating bouts of san'yaku ranked wrestlers | |
| 二翻役 | リャンファンヤク | winning hand with the score doubled twice | |
| 付添役 | つきそいやく | attendant; best man (at a wedding); groomsman; maid of honor | |
| 代り役 | かわりやく | substitute actor; stand-in; double | |
| 儲け役 | もうけやく | lucrative position | |
| 党四役 | とうよんやく | the four top party executives (of the LDP) | |
| 共役角 | きょうやくかく | conjugate angles | |
| 兼ね役 | かねやく | carrying on a second line of work | |
| 再服役 | さいふくえき | re-enlistment; second imprisonment | |
| 出来役 | できやく | scoring combination made with captured cards; meld | |
| 収入役 | しゅうにゅうやく | government treasurer | |
| 司会役 | しかいやく | moderator; host; chairman | |
| 填り役 | はまりやく | well-suited role | |
| 役人風 | やくにんかぜ | (putting on the) airs of an official | |
| 役力士 | やくりきし | (member of one of) the top four ranks of sumo wrestlers | |
| 役員席 | やくいんせき | seats for the officials; officers' seats; executive's seats | |
| 役廻り | やくまわり | role; part; job; assignment | |
| 役目柄 | やくめがら | by virtue of one's office; in the nature of one's duties | |
| 役逃げ | やくにげ | cheating by hiding a card one has been dealt (so that one can claim one wasn't dealt the correct number of cards) | |
| 御役目 | おやくめ | (public) duty | |
| 抜け役 | ぬけやく | scoring combination in a dealt hand that becomes worth more at the end of the game if the player's total score is above 88 | |
| 新三役 | しんさんやく | wrestler newly promoted to a san'yaku rank | |
| 服役囚 | ふくえきしゅう | convict; prisoner | |
| 検査役 | けんさやく | inspector | |
| 毒味役 | どくみやく | food taster | |
| 留め役 | とめやく | arbitrator | |
| 立ち役 | たちやく | leading male role | |
| 立て役 | たてやく | leading actor; protagonist | |
| 纏め役 | まとめやく | mediator; peacemaker; troubleshooter; manager | |
| 調査役 | ちょうさやく | assistant (to section manager) | |
| 重役会 | じゅうやっかい | board of directors | |
| 重役室 | じゅうやくしつ | executive suite | |
| 雑役婦 | ざつえきふ | cleaning lady | |
| あがり役 | あがりやく | winning hand | |
| あたり役 | あたりやく | successful role | |
| お役ご免 | おやくごめん | dismissal (from one's post); firing; being relieved from one's post; being relieved of a duty | |
| お役御免 | おやくごめん | dismissal (from one's post); firing; being relieved from one's post; being relieved of a duty | |
| ちょい役 | ちょいやく | small part (e.g. in a film); bit part; extra | |
| もうけ役 | もうけやく | lucrative position | |
| アガリ役 | あがりやく | winning hand | |
| ハマり役 | はまりやく | well-suited role | |
| パイ共役 | パイきょうやく | pi conjugation | |
| 一人二役 | ひとりふたやく | dual role (in a film, play, etc.); double role | |
| 一役かう | ひとやくかう | to take on a role; to take part | |
| 一役買う | ひとやくかう | to take on a role; to take part | |
| 三文役者 | さんもんやくしゃ | third-rate actor | |
| 三等重役 | さんとうじゅうやく | third-rate company director; executive in name only | |
| 二人一役 | ふたりひとやく | two people sharing one role | |
| 付き添役 | つきそいやく | attendant; best man (at a wedding); groomsman; maid of honor | |
| 使役動物 | しえきどうぶつ | working animal; draught animal; draft animal | |
| 使役動詞 | しえきどうし | causative verb | |
| 共役転置 | きょうやくてんち | complex conjugate transpose (of a matrix) | |
| 兵役免状 | へいえきめんじょう | draft exemption; exemption from conscription | |
| 兵役忌避 | へいえききひ | draft evasion | |
| 兵役逃れ | へいえきのがれ | evading military service; draft dodging; draft evasion | |
| 取締り役 | とりしまりやく | company director; board member | |
| 可動役物 | かどうやくもの | moving gadget on a pachinko machine designed to add excitement to play | |
| 和がり役 | あがりやく | winning hand | |
| 和了り役 | あがりやく | winning hand | |
| 填まり役 | はまりやく | well-suited role | |
| 大根役者 | だいこんやくしゃ | bad actor; lousy actor; wooden actor; ham actor | |
| 嫌われ役 | きらわれやく | (playing an) unpopular role; (taking on an) unpopular task | |
| 宗門改役 | しゅうもんあらためやく | magistrate in charge of finding out and converting hidden Christians (during the Edo period) | |
| 嵌まり役 | はまりやく | well-suited role | |
| 平取締役 | ひらとりしまりやく | non-executive director; nonmanagerial director | |
| 年寄り役 | としよりやく | senior's role | |
| 引き立役 | ひきたてやく | person who makes someone else appear better; foil | |
| 役に就く | やくにつく | to be appointed to a post; to assume office | |
| 役まわり | やくまわり | role; part; job; assignment | |
| 役人根性 | やくにんこんじょう | bureaucratism; bureaucratic nature | |
| 役割演技 | やくわりえんぎ | role-playing | |
| 役割理論 | やくわりりろん | role theory | |
| 役務賠償 | えきむばいしょう | reparation in the form of service | |
| 役員賞与 | やくいんしょうよ | directors' bonus; bonus allowances to company executives; officers' bonuses | |
| 役所言葉 | やくしょことば | bureaucratic jargon; officialese; gobbledygook | |
| 役立たず | やくたたず | useless; deadhead | |
| 役者バカ | やくしゃばか | good actor who is inept in all other matters; dedicated actor | |
| 役者不足 | やくしゃぶそく | lack of actors; being unfit for one's (acting) role; lacking the ability required for the part one has been given | |
| 役者冥利 | やくしゃみょうり | the happiness (good fortune) of being an actor; feeling blessed for being an actor | |
| 役者子供 | やくしゃこども | skilled actor who is like a child offstage; good actor who knows but little of the ways of the world; child kabuki actor | |
| 役者気質 | やくしゃかたぎ | characteristic temperament (spirit) of an actor | |
| 役者生命 | やくしゃせいめい | acting career; career as an actress | |
| 役者稼業 | やくしゃかぎょう | stage career; acting career | |
| 役者風情 | やくしゃふぜい | (the likes of) a mere actor | |
| 役者馬鹿 | やくしゃばか | good actor who is inept in all other matters; dedicated actor | |
| 役身折酬 | えきしんせっしゅう | debt bondage (ritsuryō system); forced labor on failure to pay a debt | |
| 御役御免 | おやくごめん | dismissal (from one's post); firing; being relieved from one's post; being relieved of a duty | |
| 御目付役 | おめつけやく | watchdog; chaperone; watcher | |
| 悪役令嬢 | あくやくれいじょう | villainess; antagonist young lady | |
| 悲劇役者 | ひげきやくしゃ | tragic actor; tragedian | |
| 意味役割 | いみやくわり | semantic role | |
| 慶長の役 | けいちょうのえき | Keichō campaign (1597-98; incl. the second Japanese invasion of Korea in 1597) | |
| 政務三役 | せいむさんやく | three highest ranks in a ministry: minister, vice minister and parliamentary secretary | |
| 数え役満 | かぞえやくマン | yakuman from having at least 13 han | |
| 文禄の役 | ぶんろくのえき | first Japanese invasion of Korea (1592-93) | |
| 旗振り役 | はたふりやく | initiator; instigator; flagman; leader | |
| 日清戦役 | にっしんせんえき | First Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895) | |
| 日露戦役 | にちろせんえき | Russo-Japanese War (1904-5) | |
| 木端役人 | こっぱやくにん | petty official; minor official | |
| 火つけ役 | ひつけやく | instigator; originator; initiator; torch bearer | |
| 自己共役 | じこきょうやく | self adjoint | |
| 西南の役 | せいなんのえき | Satsuma Rebellion (1877) | |
| 諸役御免 | しょやくごめん | being excused from various levies and taxes during the age of militarist government | |
| 返り三役 | かえりさんやく | former san'yaku-ranked wrestler returning to that rank | |
| 退役軍人 | たいえきぐんじん | ex-serviceman; veteran | |
| 道化役者 | どうけやくしゃ | clown | |
| 重役会議 | じゅうやくかいぎ | executive meeting; meeting of the board of directors | |
| 重役出勤 | じゅうやくしゅっきん | arriving at work late as if one were an executive; management attendance at work | |
| 首切役人 | くびきりやくにん | executioner; headsman | |
| お役ごめん | おやくごめん | dismissal (from one's post); firing; being relieved from one's post; being relieved of a duty | |
| お役所仕事 | おやくしょしごと | bureaucratic routine; red tape | |
| お役所言葉 | おやくしょことば | bureaucratic jargon; officialese; gobbledygook | |
| 公証人役場 | こうしょうにんやくば | notary office | |
| 共役勾配法 | きょうやくこうばいほう | contragradient method; conjugate gradient method; CG method | |
| 共役直径対 | きょうえきちょっけいたい | conjugate diameter pair; CDP | |
| 兵役拒否者 | へいえききょひしゃ | draft refuser; draft objector | |
| 役に就ける | やくにつける | to place someone in a position | |
| 役に立てる | やくにたてる | to put to use; to make good use of; to exploit | |
| 役を勤める | やくをつとめる | to act (as); to hold an office; to play the part (of) | |
| 役付取締役 | やくつきとりしまりやく | executive director | |
| 御役所仕事 | おやくしょしごと | bureaucratic routine; red tape | |
| 御目付け役 | おめつけやく | watchdog; chaperone; watcher | |
| 木っ端役人 | こっぱやくにん | petty official; minor official | |
| 首切り役人 | くびきりやくにん | executioner; headsman | |
| お役にたてる | おやくにたてる | to be of help; to be of service; to be able to assist | |
| お役に立てる | おやくにたてる | to be of help; to be of service; to be able to assist | |
| これより三役 | これよりさんやく | final three bouts on the last day of a tournament | |
| 三役揃い踏み | さんやくそろいぶみ | ritual stomping in unison on the final day of a tournament | |
| 共役二重結合 | きょうやくにじゅうけつごう | conjugated double bond | |
| 取り締まり役 | とりしまりやく | company director; board member | |
| 役にたたない | やくにたたない | of no avail; useless | |
| 役に立たない | やくにたたない | of no avail; useless | |
| 役に立た無い | やくにたたない | of no avail; useless | |
| 役を割り振る | やくをわりふる | to assign a role to an actor | |
| 役を干される | やくをほされる | to be deprived of one's role; to have one's livelihood taken away | |
| 役割を果たす | やくわりをはたす | to play a role; to serve a function; to play a part | |
| 役割を演じる | やくわりをえんじる | to carry out a role | |
| 役割を演ずる | やくわりをえんずる | to carry out a role | |
| 御役に立てる | おやくにたてる | to be of help; to be of service; to be able to assist | |
| 性別役割分業 | せいべつやくわりぶんぎょう | division of labor by gender role | |
| 文禄慶長の役 | ぶんろくけいちょうのえき | Imjin War (1592-1597); Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea | |
| 主役から下ろす | しゅやくからおろす | to relieve someone of the leading role | |
| 主役から降ろす | しゅやくからおろす | to relieve someone of the leading role | |
| 代表取締役社長 | だいひょうとりしまりやくしゃちょう | president and chief executive officer | |
| 役にもたたない | やくにもたたない | of no use whatsoever; good for nothing; useless | |
| 役にも立たない | やくにもたたない | of no use whatsoever; good for nothing; useless | |
| 文禄・慶長の役 | ぶんろくけいちょうのえき | Imjin War (1592-1597); Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea | |
| 良心的兵役拒否 | りょうしんてきへいえききょひ | conscientious objection | |
| 代表取締役副社長 | だいひょうとりしまりやくふくしゃちょう | representative executive vice-president | |
| 取締役会設置会社 | とりしまりやくかいせっちがいしゃ | (stock) company that has a board of directors | |
| 糞の役にも立たぬ | くそのやくにもたたぬ | completely worthless; utterly useless | |
| 良心的兵役拒否者 | りょうしんてきへいえききょひしゃ | conscientious objector; CO | |
| 非線形共役勾配法 | ひせんけいきょうやくこうばいほう | nonlinear conjugate gradient method | |
| 予備役将校訓練課程 | よびえきしょうこうくんれんかてい | Reserve Officers' Training Corps (US); ROTC | |
| 何の役にも立たない | なんのやくにもたたない | of no use whatsoever; good for nothing; useless | |
| 明治二十七八年戦役 | めいじにじゅうしちはちねんせんえき | Meiji 27-28 Campaign (alternate name for the First Sino-Japanese war; 1894-1895) | |
| なんの役にも立たない | なんのやくにもたたない | of no use whatsoever; good for nothing; useless | |