How do you say "swan" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "swan" is 白鳥 (hakuchō). It is a noun pronounced "hah-koo-choh".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of swan from Noun Town

Pronunciation

白鳥 is written in kanji. Romanised as hakuchō, it sounds roughly like "hah-koo-choh" to an English ear.

Example sentence

動物園で白鳥を見ました。

Doubutsuen de Hakuchō wo mimashita.

I saw a swan at the zoo.

Usage notes

Hakuchō (白鳥) is the Japanese word for swan. Animal vocabulary is engaging for learners and appears frequently in games, zoos, farms, and nature programs.

Related words

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Questions about 白鳥

How do you pronounce 白鳥?

白鳥 is romanised as hakuchō. Say it roughly like "hah-koo-choh" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 白鳥 formal or casual?

白鳥 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 白鳥 written in Japanese?

白鳥 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.