How do you say "rack" in Japanese?

棚

tana

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "rack" is 棚 (tana).

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Pronunciation

棚 is written using kanji. Romanised as tana, it sounds roughly like "tah-nah" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Tana is a shelf or rack, a kanji featuring the wood radical combined with a phonetic component. It's a practical household word found on shopping and storage.

Example sentence

新しい棚が設置されました。

Atarashii Tana ga secchi saremashita.

A new rack has been installed.

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How to remember 棚

Tana has wood radical (left side) showing it's made of wood. Multiple horizontal strokes suggest stacked levels.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more Japanese nouns.

Questions about 棚

How do you pronounce 棚?

棚 is romanised as tana. Say it roughly like "tah-nah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 棚 formal or casual?

棚 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 棚 written in Japanese?

棚 is written using kanji. Tana is a shelf or rack, a kanji featuring the wood radical combined with a phonetic component.

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.

"Rack" in other languages

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