How do you say "bar staff" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "bar staff" is バーテンダー (bātendā). It is a noun pronounced "bah-teh-n-dah".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of bar staff from Noun Town

Pronunciation

バーテンダー is written in katakana. Romanised as bātendā, it sounds roughly like "bah-teh-n-dah" to an English ear.

Example sentence

私の父はバーテンダーです。

Watashi no chichi wa bātendā desu.

My father is a bar staff.

Usage notes

Bātendā (バーテンダー) is the Japanese word for bar staff. Job titles in Japanese use a variety of endings: shi (士) for licensed professionals, sha (者) for workers, while modern roles often use katakana loanwords.

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Questions about バーテンダー

How do you pronounce バーテンダー?

バーテンダー is romanised as bātendā. Say it roughly like "bah-teh-n-dah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is バーテンダー formal or casual?

バーテンダー 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 バーテンダー written in Japanese?

バーテンダー is written using katakana. Katakana is typically used for words of foreign origin or to give emphasis.

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.