How to say "Adult" in Japanese | 大人

If you are wondering what's the Japanese word for "Adult" you've come to the right place!

the Japanese word for "Adult" is "Otona", written in japanese as "大人".

Here's a more detailed explanation:

The Japanese adjective '大人 (おとな)' means 'adult'. It refers to someone who is fully grown or mature, both physically and mentally. This word is often used to describe behavior, responsibility, or appearance associated with adulthood. For example: He is an adult「彼は大人です」(かれはおとなです). She behaves like an adult「彼女は大人のように振る舞う」(かのじょはおとなのようにふるまう). It can also be used in contrast to children, as in '大人と子供 (おとなとこども) (adults and children)'. The word carries a nuance of maturity and responsibility, and it is often used in contexts where the distinction between childhood and adulthood is important.

The Kanji are characters that represent meanings. As you can see, this word is made up of 2 Kanji:

The kanji "大" means "Big" and can be read as "Oo", "Dai" and "Tai". And The kanji "人" means "Person" and can be read as "Jin", "Nin", "Hito" and "Ri".

Now, let's make sure you understand this word the other way around too.

What does "Otona" mean in japanese?

"Otona" means "Adult" .

To learn more about the kanji in this word, checkout this pages:

To make really sure you learn this word, We've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this word and of the characters that comprise it.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "お" is read as "o". The hiragana "だ" is read as "da". The hiragana "い" is read as "i". The hiragana "た" is read as "ta". The hiragana "じ" is read as "ji". The hiragana "ん" is read as "n". The hiragana "に" is read as "ni". The hiragana "ひ" is read as "hi". The hiragana "と" is read as "to". The hiragana "り" is read as "ri". And The hiragana "な" is read as "na".

About kanji, you need to know that most Kanji have two types of readings: Kunyomi, based on native japanese pronunciation. And onyomi, based on chinese pronunciation.