How do you say "virus" in Japanese?

ウイルス

uirusu

Noun Katakana

In Japanese, "virus" is ウイルス (uirusu).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

OO-ee-roo-soo, four syllables, borrowed from English virus but broken into more distinct pieces.

Writing and usage

ウイルス is written using katakana. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

ウイルスが学校内に急速に広がった。

uirusu ga gakkounai ni kyuusoku ni hiroga tta.

A virus spread quickly through the school.

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How to remember ウイルス

Uirusu is the English word virus taken apart and given extra vowels, so listen for the buried 'virus' shape.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about ウイルス

How do you pronounce ウイルス?

OO-ee-roo-soo, four syllables, borrowed from English virus but broken into more distinct pieces.

Is ウイルス formal or casual?

ウイルス 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 ウイルス written in Japanese?

ウイルス is written using katakana. Romanised, it reads as uirusu.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Virus" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

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. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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