How do you say "shower" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "shower" is シャワーを浴びる (shawā o abiru). It is a verb pronounced "shah-wah oh ah-bee-roo".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

シャワーを浴びる is written in kanji, hiragana and katakana. Romanised as shawā o abiru, it sounds roughly like "shah-wah oh ah-bee-roo" to an English ear.

Example sentence

私はシャワーを浴びることが好きです。

Watashi wa shawā o abiru koto ga suki desu.

I enjoy showering.

Usage notes

シャワーを浴びる means to shower in Japanese. This is an everyday verb that learners encounter early. Mastering its masu form (シャワーを浴びます) and te-form opens up many sentence patterns.

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Questions about シャワーを浴びる

How do you pronounce シャワーを浴びる?

シャワーを浴びる is romanised as shawā o abiru. Say it roughly like "shah-wah oh ah-bee-roo" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is シャワーを浴びる formal or casual?

シャワーを浴びる is the plain (dictionary) form, used in casual speech and in dictionaries. For polite situations, verbs take a different ending, typically -masu. In Noun Town the game always shows the dictionary form.

How is シャワーを浴びる written in Japanese?

シャワーを浴びる is written using kanji, hiragana and katakana. 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.