How do you say "beach" in Japanese?

海

umi

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "beach" is 海 (umi).

Listen to the pronunciation:

Free Japanese learning game. No sign-up, play in browser. See all games

Pronunciation

海 is written using kanji. Romanised as umi, it sounds roughly like "oo-mee" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Umi means sea or ocean, a single fundamental kanji representing the largest bodies of water. While literally sea, it's commonly used for beach environments in casual speech.

Example sentence

海の横に立ちました。

Umi no yoko ni tachimashita.

I stood next to the beach.

Test your Japanese knowledge in our free browser games.

How to remember 海

Umi (海) has water radical on the left. The right side looks like waves or horizon lines of an endless ocean.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more Japanese nouns.

Questions about 海

How do you pronounce 海?

海 is romanised as umi. Say it roughly like "oo-mee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 海 formal or casual?

海 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 海 written in Japanese?

海 is written using kanji. Umi means sea or ocean, a single fundamental kanji representing the largest bodies of water.

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.

"Beach" in other languages

Curated by Jack 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.

Noun Town language-learning game on PC, Mac and VR

The full experience

Noun Town on PC, Mac & VR

These browser games are just a taste. The full Noun Town is a bigger, deeper 3D world: explore a living town, talk to its characters and learn thousands of words in immersive VR, Mixed Reality, or on your computer. It's an award-winning game with 590+ reviews on Steam and 12 languages to learn.

See the full game ▶

Spot an error? Email us at contact@noun.town