How do you say "shoes" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "shoes" is (kutsu). It is a noun pronounced "koo-tsoo".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of shoes from Noun Town

Pronunciation

靴 is written in kanji. Romanised as kutsu, it sounds roughly like "koo-tsoo" to an English ear.

Example sentence

冬用の靴を探しています。

Fuyuyou no Kutsu wo sagashite imasu.

I am looking for a winter shoes.

Usage notes

Kutsu (靴) means shoes in Japanese. Clothing vocabulary is useful for shopping, describing outfits, and understanding fashion-related conversations.

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Questions about 靴

How do you pronounce 靴?

靴 is romanised as kutsu. Say it roughly like "koo-tsoo" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 靴 formal or casual?

靴 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 靴 written in Japanese?

靴 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.