How do you say "funeral" in Japanese?

葬儀

sougi

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "funeral" is 葬儀 (sougi).

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Pronunciation

Sougi opens with a long 'ou' vowel, so it's 'soh-gi', with the 'gi' pronounced hard like 'gear' not soft like 'giant'.

Writing and usage

葬儀 is written using kanji. 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

多くの人が葬儀に参列しました。

ooku no nin ga sougi ni sanretsu shimashita.

Many people came to the funeral.

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How to remember 葬儀

Sougi sounds somber and slow like the long 'ou' itself -- stretch the vowel the way a quiet procession moves.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 葬儀

How do you pronounce 葬儀?

Sougi opens with a long 'ou' vowel, so it's 'soh-gi', with the 'gi' pronounced hard like 'gear' not soft like 'giant'.

Is 葬儀 formal or casual?

葬儀 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 葬儀 written in Japanese?

葬儀 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as sougi.

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.

"Funeral" 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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