How do you say "machine" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "machine" is 機械 (kikai). It is a noun pronounced "kee-kah-ee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

機械 is written in kanji. Romanised as kikai, it sounds roughly like "kee-kah-ee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

子供たちは機械の周りで遊んでいます。

Kodomotachi wa Kikai no mawari de asonde imasu.

The children are playing around the machine.

Usage notes

Kikai (機械) means machine in Japanese. This noun describes a feature or object found in indoor or outdoor environments.

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Questions about 機械

How do you pronounce 機械?

機械 is romanised as kikai. Say it roughly like "kee-kah-ee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 機械 formal or casual?

機械 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 機械 written in Japanese?

機械 is written using kanji. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

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.