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How to say 'Story' in Japanese | 話

Wondering how to say 'Story' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Story is 'Hanashi', written as 話 in Japanese.'Story' in hiragana is はなし.

    word

    Meaning

    Story

    Reading

    はなし

    hanashi

    Kanji

    Talk

    Explanation

    The Japanese noun '話 (はなし)' primarily means 'story'. It refers to a narrative or account of events, either real or fictional. This word is commonly used in everyday conversation and can refer to a wide range of topics, from personal anecdotes to fairy tales. For example: I heard an interesting story「面白い話を聞いた」(おもしろいはなしをきいた). Tell me a story「話をして」(はなしをして). Additionally, '話' can also refer to a conversation or discussion, but in this context, it is more about the content being discussed rather than the act of talking itself. For example: We had a long conversation about the future「将来について長い話をした」(しょうらいについてながいはなしをした).

    Part Of Speech

    noun

    Kanji JLPT

    N5

    Kanji Grade

    2

    Frequency

    145

    Composition

    kanji

    Handwriting

Kanji in the Word

This word contains 1 kanji character:

  • kanji

    Meaning

    Talk

Words Related to Through the Kanji

These 17 Words contain the Kanji 話 as well.

  • word

    話す

    Meaning

    Talk, Speak

  • word

    会話

    Meaning

    Conversation

  • word

    電話

    Meaning

    Call

  • word

    話題

    Meaning

    Topic

  • word

    電話帳

    Meaning

    Phone book

  • word

    世話

    Meaning

    Care

  • word

    受話器

    Meaning

    Receiver

  • word

    話し合う

    Meaning

    Discuss

  • word

    話し掛ける

    Meaning

    Address

  • word

    神話

    Meaning

    Myth

  • word

    話し合い

    Meaning

    Discussion

  • word

    長話

    Meaning

    Long talk

  • word

    作り話

    Meaning

    Fabrication

  • word

    対話

    Meaning

    Dialogue

  • word

    受話

    Meaning

    Receiver

  • word

    話し言葉

    Meaning

    Spoken language

  • word

    話し声

    Meaning

    Voice

Learn the Word

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What does 'Hanashi' (話) mean?

'Hanashi' means 'Story' .

To help you master this word, here's an interactive lesson where you'll practice its readings and meanings.