How do you say "picture" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "picture" is 写真 (shashin). It is a noun pronounced "shah-shee-n".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of picture from Noun Town

Pronunciation

写真 is written in kanji. Romanised as shashin, it sounds roughly like "shah-shee-n" to an English ear.

Example sentence

机の上に写真があります。

Tsukue no ue ni Shashin ga arimasu.

There is a picture on the desk.

Usage notes

Shashin (写真) is the Japanese word for picture. This noun appears in everyday contexts across homes, offices, schools, and public spaces.

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Questions about 写真

How do you pronounce 写真?

写真 is romanised as shashin. Say it roughly like "shah-shee-n" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 写真 formal or casual?

写真 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 写真 written in Japanese?

写真 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.