How do you say "letter" in Japanese?

手紙

tegami

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "letter" is 手紙 (tegami).

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Pronunciation

手紙 is written using kanji. Romanised as tegami, it sounds roughly like "teh-gah-mee" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Tegami uses 手 (hand) and 紙 (paper), literally hand paper. This romantic image captures correspondence written by hand.

Example sentence

新しい手紙を買いました。

Atarashii Tegami wo kaimashita.

I bought a new letter.

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How to remember 手紙

Hand plus paper. Picture someone writing a letter by hand on paper.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 手紙

How do you pronounce 手紙?

手紙 is romanised as tegami. Say it roughly like "teh-gah-mee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 手紙 formal or casual?

手紙 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 手紙 written in Japanese?

手紙 is written using kanji. Tegami uses 手 (hand) and 紙 (paper), literally hand paper.

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.

"Letter" 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.

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