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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner

How do you say "kangaroo" in Japanese?

カンガルー

kangarū

Noun Katakana

In Japanese, "kangaroo" is カンガルー (kangarū).

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Pronunciation

カンガルー is written using katakana. Romanised as kangarū, it sounds roughly like "kah-n-gah-roo" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Kangarū is a katakana loanword from English 'kangaroo'. The macron (long vowel mark) maintains English pronunciation for this Australian marsupial.

Example sentence

カンガルーは昼間よく眠ります。

Kangarū wa hiruma yoku nemurimasu.

A kangaroo often sleeps during the day.

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How to remember カンガルー

Katakana 'kangaroo' with elongated vowel preserves the English name.

Related words

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Questions about カンガルー

How do you pronounce カンガルー?

カンガルー is romanised as kangarū. Say it roughly like "kah-n-gah-roo" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is カンガルー formal or casual?

カンガルー 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 カンガルー written in Japanese?

カンガルー is written using katakana. Kangarū is a katakana loanword from English 'kangaroo'.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

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"Kangaroo" in other languages

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