役

役 (Kangxi radical 60, 彳+4, 7 strokes, cangjie input 竹人竹弓水 (HOHNE), four-corner 2724₇, composition ⿰彳殳)

• 垼 䓈

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 365, character 18
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 10057
• Dae Jaweon: page 685, character 12
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 814, character 23
• Unihan data for U+5F79

Historical forms of the character 役
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意) : semantic 彳 (“movement; action”) + semantic 殳 (“a weapon, like a spear”). The character originally depicted guarding a border with a weapon in hand, and by extension, it came to represent the idea of performing a duty or task.^[1]

From 為 (OC *ɢʷal, “to do”) with k-extension (Schuessler, 2007).

役

1. ^† to guard the borders
2. ^† soldier
3. ^† matter; event; incident
4. war; military campaign
5. forced labour
6. military service
7. labourer
8. servant
9. to use as a servant
10. ^† to attract
11. ^† student; disciple
12. ^† duty; responsibility
13. ^† low-ranking official
14. ^† to arrange into rows
15. ^† to help; to aid
16. ^† to be; to act as
17. ^† to practise; to act with

• “役”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

(Third grade kyōiku kanji)

1. duty, office
2. service
3. role, part

• Go-on: やく (yaku, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: えき (eki, Jōyō)
• Kun: つとめ (tsutome, 役)、えだち (edachi, 役)
• Nanori: え (e)、えん (en)、えんの (enno)、おうこ (ōko)、おうせ (ōse)、おおせ (ōse)、まもり (mamori)、まもる (mamoru)

From Middle Chinese 役 (MC ywek). The goon reading, so likely the initial borrowing.

• (Tokyo) やく (Odaka – )^[1]
• IPA^(key):

役(やく) • (yaku) 

1. role, service, use
2. (card games, mahjong) hand, scoring combination

役(やく) • (-yaku) 

1. playing the role of...

   涼(すず)宮(みや)ハルヒ役(やく)の平(ひら)野(の)綾(あや)さん

   Suzumiya Haruhi-yaku no Hirano Aya-san

   Aya Hirano, who voices Haruhi Suzumiya

From Middle Chinese 役 (MC ywek).

The kan'on pronunciation, so likely a later borrowing.

• (Tokyo) えき (Atamadaka – )^[1]
• IPA^(key):

役(えき) • (eki) 

1. war; battle
2. (archaic) This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

役(えき) • (eki) 

1. duty; service
2. put to work, labor
3. war; battle

From Middle Chinese 役 (MC ywek).

Recorded as Middle Korean ᄋᆑᆨ〮 (Yale: yuyek) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.

Recorded as Middle Korean 역〮 (yék) (Yale: yek) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

役

Wikisource

役 (eumhun 부릴 역 (buril yeok))

1. hanja form^? of 역 (“duty; role”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

役: Hán Việt readings: dịch^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}
役: Nôm readings: dịch^[1][2][3], việc^[1][2][3][7], diếc^[1]

1. chữ Hán form of dịch (“service, work”).
2. Nôm form of việc (“work, job, business, matter, affair”).