How do you say "table tennis" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "table tennis" is 卓球 (takkyū). It is a noun pronounced "tah-kkyoo".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of table tennis from Noun Town

Pronunciation

卓球 is written in kanji. Romanised as takkyū, it sounds roughly like "tah-kkyoo" to an English ear.

Example sentence

机の上に卓球があります。

Tsukue no ue ni Takkyū ga arimasu.

There is a table tennis on the desk.

Usage notes

Takkyū (卓球) is the Japanese word for table tennis. This noun appears in everyday contexts across homes, offices, schools, and public spaces.

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Questions about 卓球

How do you pronounce 卓球?

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

Is 卓球 formal or casual?

卓球 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 卓球 written in Japanese?

卓球 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.