How do you say "document" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "document" is 書類 (shorui). It is a noun pronounced "shoh-roo-ee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of document from Noun Town

Pronunciation

書類 is written in kanji. Romanised as shorui, it sounds roughly like "shoh-roo-ee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

書類はどこにありますか?

Shorui wa doko ni arimasu ka?

Where is the document?

Usage notes

Shorui (書類) is the Japanese word for document. This noun appears in everyday contexts across homes, offices, schools, and public spaces.

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Questions about 書類

How do you pronounce 書類?

書類 is romanised as shorui. Say it roughly like "shoh-roo-ee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 書類 formal or casual?

書類 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 書類 written in Japanese?

書類 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.