How do you say "cupboard" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "cupboard" is 食器棚 (shokkitana). It is a noun pronounced "shoh-kkee-tah-nah".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

食器棚 is written in kanji. Romanised as shokkitana, it sounds roughly like "shoh-kkee-tah-nah" to an English ear.

Example sentence

子供たちは食器棚の周りで遊んでいます。

Kodomotachi wa Shokkitana no mawari de asonde imasu.

The children are playing around the cupboard.

Usage notes

Shokkitana (食器棚) means cupboard in Japanese. This noun describes a feature or object found in indoor or outdoor environments.

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Questions about 食器棚

How do you pronounce 食器棚?

食器棚 is romanised as shokkitana. Say it roughly like "shoh-kkee-tah-nah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 食器棚 formal or casual?

食器棚 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 食器棚 written in Japanese?

食器棚 is written using kanji. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

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.