How do you say "futon" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "futon" is 布団 (futon). It is a noun pronounced "foo-toh-n".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of futon from Noun Town

Pronunciation

布団 is written in kanji. Romanised as futon, it sounds roughly like "foo-toh-n" to an English ear.

Example sentence

この建物には大きな布団があります。

Kono tatemono ni wa ookina Futon ga arimasu.

This building has a large futon.

Usage notes

Futon (布団) means futon in Japanese. This noun describes a feature or object found in indoor or outdoor environments.

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Questions about 布団

How do you pronounce 布団?

布団 is romanised as futon. Say it roughly like "foo-toh-n" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 布団 formal or casual?

布団 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 布団 written in Japanese?

布団 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.