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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "oxygen" in Japanese?
酸素
sanso
In Japanese, "oxygen" is 酸素 (sanso).
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Pronunciation
Sanso is two short even syllables, san and so, said crisply with a nasal n closing the first beat.
Writing and usage
酸素 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.
Example sentence
私たちは空気中の酸素を吸っています。
watashitachi ha kuukichuu no sanso wo sutsu teimasu.
We breathe oxygen from the air.
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How to remember 酸素
Sanso sounds like 'sun so', as in the sun is so bright because it burns fueled partly by oxygen.
Related words
- gravity 重力 juuryoku
- energy エネルギー enerugii
- electricity 電気 denki
- magnet マグネット magunetto
- chemical 化学的 kagakuteki
- reaction 反応 hannou
- carbon カーボン kaabon
- hydrogen 水素 suiso
- molecule 分子 bunshi
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 酸素
How do you pronounce 酸素?
Sanso is two short even syllables, san and so, said crisply with a nasal n closing the first beat.
Is 酸素 formal or casual?
酸素 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 酸素 written in Japanese?
酸素 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as sanso.
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.
"Oxygen" 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. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.
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