How do you say "essay" in Japanese?

エッセイ

essei

Noun Katakana

In Japanese, "essay" is エッセイ (essei).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

Essei doubles its first consonant sound, so hold the s a touch longer, then glide into a long ei that sounds like 'ay'.

Writing and usage

エッセイ is written using katakana. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

彼は海についてのエッセイを書きました。

kareha umi nitsuiteno essei wo kaki mashita.

He wrote an essay about the ocean.

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How to remember エッセイ

Essei is essentially 'essay' with a Japanese accent, so the English word itself is your built-in pronunciation guide.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about エッセイ

How do you pronounce エッセイ?

Essei doubles its first consonant sound, so hold the s a touch longer, then glide into a long ei that sounds like 'ay'.

Is エッセイ formal or casual?

エッセイ 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 エッセイ written in Japanese?

エッセイ is written using katakana. Romanised, it reads as essei.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Essay" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

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. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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