How do you say "dough" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "dough" is 生地 (kiji). It is a noun pronounced "kee-jee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of dough from Noun Town

Pronunciation

生地 is written in kanji. Romanised as kiji, it sounds roughly like "kee-jee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

このお店の生地はとてもおいしいです。

Kono omise no Kiji wa totemo oishii desu.

The dough at this shop is very delicious.

Usage notes

Kiji (生地) is the Japanese word for dough. 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 生地

How do you pronounce 生地?

生地 is romanised as kiji. Say it roughly like "kee-jee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 生地 formal or casual?

生地 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 生地 written in Japanese?

生地 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.