How do you say "cherry" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "cherry" is さくらんぼ (sakuranbo). It is a noun pronounced "sah-koo-rah-n-boh".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of cherry from Noun Town

Pronunciation

さくらんぼ is written in hiragana. Romanised as sakuranbo, it sounds roughly like "sah-koo-rah-n-boh" to an English ear.

Example sentence

冷蔵庫にさくらんぼが入っています。

Reizoko ni Sakuranbo ga haitte imasu.

There is cherry in the fridge.

Usage notes

Sakuranbo (さくらんぼ) is the Japanese word for cherry. Food vocabulary is among the most practical for daily life in Japan and is used constantly in markets, restaurants, and home cooking.

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Questions about さくらんぼ

How do you pronounce さくらんぼ?

さくらんぼ is romanised as sakuranbo. Say it roughly like "sah-koo-rah-n-boh" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is さくらんぼ formal or casual?

さくらんぼ 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 さくらんぼ written in Japanese?

さくらんぼ is written using hiragana. Hiragana is the basic Japanese syllabary used for native words and grammatical elements.

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.