How do you say "buffalo" in Japanese?

バッファロー

baffaroo

Noun Katakana

In Japanese, "buffalo" is バッファロー (baffaroo).

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Pronunciation

Baf-fah-ROH, borrowed from English, with a doubled f giving it a slightly forceful start.

Writing and usage

バッファロー is written using katakana. 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

巨大なバッファローが開けた平原で草を食んでいた。

kyodai na baffaroo ga hirake ta heigen de kusa wo han deita.

A huge buffalo grazed on the open plain.

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How to remember バッファロー

Baffaroo is close enough to buffalo that picturing the animal charging should lock the word in place.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about バッファロー

How do you pronounce バッファロー?

Baf-fah-ROH, borrowed from English, with a doubled f giving it a slightly forceful start.

Is バッファロー formal or casual?

バッファロー 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 バッファロー written in Japanese?

バッファロー is written using katakana. Romanised, it reads as baffaroo.

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.

"Buffalo" 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. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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