How do you say "elephant" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "elephant" is ゾウ (). It is a noun pronounced "zoh".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of elephant from Noun Town

Pronunciation

ゾウ is written in katakana. Romanised as , it sounds roughly like "zoh" to an English ear.

Example sentence

ゾウが草原を走っています。

Zō ga sogen wo hashitte imasu.

A elephant is running across the field.

Usage notes

Zō (ゾウ) is the Japanese word for elephant. Animal vocabulary is engaging for learners and appears frequently in games, zoos, farms, and nature programs.

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Questions about ゾウ

How do you pronounce ゾウ?

ゾウ is romanised as zō. Say it roughly like "zoh" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is ゾウ formal or casual?

ゾウ 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 ゾウ written in Japanese?

ゾウ is written using katakana. Katakana is typically used for words of foreign origin or to give emphasis.

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.