How do you say "car" in Japanese?

車

kuruma

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "car" is 車 (kuruma).

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Pronunciation

車 is written using kanji. Romanised as kuruma, it sounds roughly like "koo-roo-mah" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Kuruma is a fundamental noun for vehicle, a single kanji appearing in compounds for cars, trains, and wheels. It's one of the first vocabulary words most learners encounter.

Example sentence

あの車はとても大きいです。

Ano Kuruma wa totemo ookii desu.

That car is very large.

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How to remember 車

Kuruma (車) looks like two wheels on an axle viewed from above, with a connecting bar in the middle.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more Japanese nouns.

Questions about 車

How do you pronounce 車?

車 is romanised as kuruma. Say it roughly like "koo-roo-mah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 車 formal or casual?

車 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 車 written in Japanese?

車 is written using kanji. Kuruma is a fundamental noun for vehicle, a single kanji appearing in compounds for cars, trains, and wheels.

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.

"Car" in other languages

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