How do you say "island" in Japanese?

島

shima

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "island" is 島 (shima).

Listen to the pronunciation:

Free Japanese learning game. No sign-up, play in browser. See all games

Pronunciation

SHEE-mah, two syllables, a soft 'shi' and an open 'ma'.

Writing and usage

島 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

彼らは小さな島へと航海した。

karera ha chiisa na shima heto koukai shita.

They sailed to a small island.

Test your Japanese knowledge in our free browser games.

How to remember 島

Shima sounds small and isolated, fitting for a single island surrounded by sea.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 島

How do you pronounce 島?

SHEE-mah, two syllables, a soft 'shi' and an open 'ma'.

Is 島 formal or casual?

島 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 島 written in Japanese?

島 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as shima.

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.

"Island" in other languages

Curated by Jack 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.

Noun Town language-learning game on PC, Mac and VR

The full experience

Noun Town on PC, Mac & VR

These browser games are just a taste. The full Noun Town is a bigger, deeper 3D world: explore a living town, talk to its characters and learn thousands of words in immersive VR, Mixed Reality, or on your computer. It's an award-winning game with 590+ reviews on Steam and 12 languages to learn.

See the full game ▶

Spot an error? Email us at contact@noun.town