How do you say "observatory" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "observatory" is 展望台 (tenbōdai). It is a noun pronounced "teh-n-boh-dah-ee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

展望台 is written in kanji. Romanised as tenbōdai, it sounds roughly like "teh-n-boh-dah-ee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

新しい展望台が設置されました。

Atarashii Tenbōdai ga secchi saremashita.

A new observatory has been installed.

Usage notes

Tenbōdai (展望台) means observatory in Japanese. This noun describes a feature or object found in indoor or outdoor environments.

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Questions about 展望台

How do you pronounce 展望台?

展望台 is romanised as tenbōdai. Say it roughly like "teh-n-boh-dah-ee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 展望台 formal or casual?

展望台 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 展望台 written in Japanese?

展望台 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.