How do you say "paper" in Japanese?

紙

kami

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "paper" is 紙 (kami).

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Pronunciation

紙 is written using kanji. Romanised as kami, it sounds roughly like "kah-mee" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Kami is a simple, ancient kanji representing paper itself. Kanji for paper appears in many compounds related to writing and documents.

Example sentence

紙はどこにありますか？

Kami wa doko ni arimasu ka?

Where is the paper?

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How to remember 紙

A basic shape kanji. Picture layers of material pressed together like paper sheets.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 紙

How do you pronounce 紙?

紙 is romanised as kami. Say it roughly like "kah-mee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 紙 formal or casual?

紙 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 紙 written in Japanese?

紙 is written using kanji. Kami is a simple, ancient kanji representing paper itself.

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.

"Paper" 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.

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