How do you say "stairs" in Japanese?

階段

kaidan

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "stairs" is 階段 (kaidan).

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Pronunciation

階段 is written using kanji. Romanised as kaidan, it sounds roughly like "kah-ee-dah-n" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Kaidan combines step or stage (階) plus step or degree (段). Kaidan is the standard term for any flight of stairs.

Example sentence

あの階段はとても大きいです。

Ano Kaidan wa totemo ookii desu.

That stairs is very large.

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How to remember 階段

Kai (step, degree) dan (step). Think of each step up as a degree or stage. Kaidan appears in many place names.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more Japanese nouns.

Questions about 階段

How do you pronounce 階段?

階段 is romanised as kaidan. Say it roughly like "kah-ee-dah-n" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 階段 formal or casual?

階段 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 階段 written in Japanese?

階段 is written using kanji. Kaidan combines step or stage (階) plus step or degree (段).

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

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"Stairs" in other languages

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