How do you say "airplane" in Japanese?

飛行機

hikouki

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "airplane" is 飛行機 (hikouki).

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Pronunciation

Hikouki has a long 'ou' in the middle, so it's 'hi-KOH-ki', with the stress falling on that stretched second syllable.

Writing and usage

飛行機 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

飛行機は雲の中へと飛び立った。

hikouki ha kumo no naka heto tobi tatsu ta.

The airplane took off into the clouds.

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How to remember 飛行機

Hikouki sounds like 'hi, koh, key' -- picture waving 'hi' as the plane climbs, key-shaped, into the sky.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 飛行機

How do you pronounce 飛行機?

Hikouki has a long 'ou' in the middle, so it's 'hi-KOH-ki', with the stress falling on that stretched second syllable.

Is 飛行機 formal or casual?

飛行機 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 飛行機 written in Japanese?

飛行機 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as hikouki.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Airplane" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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