How do you say "pigeon" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "pigeon" is ハト (hato). It is a noun pronounced "hah-toh".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of pigeon from Noun Town

Pronunciation

ハト is written in katakana. Romanised as hato, it sounds roughly like "hah-toh" to an English ear.

Example sentence

あのハトはとても可愛いです。

Ano Hato wa totemo kawaii desu.

That pigeon is very cute.

Usage notes

Hato (ハト) is the Japanese word for pigeon. Animal vocabulary is engaging for learners and appears frequently in games, zoos, farms, and nature programs.

Related words

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

Practice ハト and hundreds more Japanese words in the game.

Buy on Steam

Questions about ハト

How do you pronounce ハト?

ハト is romanised as hato. Say it roughly like "hah-toh" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is ハト formal or casual?

ハト 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 ハト written in Japanese?

ハト is written using katakana. Katakana is typically used for words of foreign origin or to give emphasis.

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.