How do you say "paint" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "paint" is 絵の具 (enogu). It is a noun pronounced "eh-noh-goo".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of paint from Noun Town

Pronunciation

絵の具 is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as enogu, it sounds roughly like "eh-noh-goo" to an English ear.

Example sentence

絵の具を使います。

Enogu wo tsukaimasu.

I use the paint.

Usage notes

Enogu (絵の具) is the Japanese word for paint. This noun appears in everyday contexts across homes, offices, schools, and public spaces.

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Questions about 絵の具

How do you pronounce 絵の具?

絵の具 is romanised as enogu. Say it roughly like "eh-noh-goo" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 絵の具 formal or casual?

絵の具 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 絵の具 written in Japanese?

絵の具 is written using kanji and hiragana. 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.