How do you say "ingredient" in Japanese?

材料

zairyou

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "ingredient" is 材料 (zairyou).

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Pronunciation

Zairyou carries a long 'ou' at the end, so it's 'zai-ryoh', with that final vowel held rather than clipped.

Writing and usage

材料 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

塩はこの料理の重要な材料です。

shio hakono ryouri no juuyouna zairyou desu.

Salt is a key ingredient in the dish.

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How to remember 材料

Zairyou sounds like 'z-eye-row' -- picture eyeing a row of ingredients lined up on the counter before cooking.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 材料

How do you pronounce 材料?

Zairyou carries a long 'ou' at the end, so it's 'zai-ryoh', with that final vowel held rather than clipped.

Is 材料 formal or casual?

材料 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 材料 written in Japanese?

材料 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as zairyou.

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.

"Ingredient" 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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