How do you say "lion" in Japanese?

ライオン

raion

Noun Katakana

In Japanese, "lion" is ライオン (raion).

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Pronunciation

ライオン is written using katakana. Romanised as raion, it sounds roughly like "rah-ee-oh-n" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Raion is a katakana loanword from English 'lion'. Japanese adopted this term for the African big cat rather than inventing a native compound.

Example sentence

動物園でライオンを見ました。

Doubutsuen de Raion wo mimashita.

I saw a lion at the zoo.

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How to remember ライオン

Katakana 'raion' directly borrows the English name for the African king of beasts.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more zoo words.

Questions about ライオン

How do you pronounce ライオン?

ライオン is romanised as raion. Say it roughly like "rah-ee-oh-n" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is ライオン formal or casual?

ライオン 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 ライオン written in Japanese?

ライオン is written using katakana. Raion is a katakana loanword from English 'lion'.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

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"Lion" in other languages

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