How to say "bamboo" in Japanese

• 竹たけJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounThe common, all-purpose word for bamboo: any grass of the bamboo subfamily. Use it for the plant itself — growing bamboo, its stems — in essentially any context where bamboo comes up.
  林はやしに竹たけが目立めだつ。↗

  Bamboo stands out in the woods.
• バンブー
  nounThe loanword, taken straight from English. It denotes the same plant but is less common; for bamboo itself 竹 is the usual choice, with バンブー turning up mainly in names and borrowed contexts.
• 篠竹しのだけ
  nounChiefly a name for bamboo grass — small, slender bamboos — with 'bamboo' a secondary sense. It is an uncommon rendering of 'bamboo'; for the plant in general, 竹 is the word you want.
• 篠笹しのざさ
  nounA name for bamboo grass — low-growing, grassy bamboo plants — rather than for bamboo proper; its 'bamboo' sense is secondary, and the word is uncommon, so for bamboo itself you would normally use 竹.

For bamboo in general use 竹, the common word; 「バンブー」 is a less common loanword for the same plant; 篠竹 and 篠笹 are uncommon words for bamboo grass, only marginal as translations of 'bamboo'.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 竹たけbamboo (any grass of subfamily Bambusoideae)
• バンブーbamboo
• 篠竹しのだけbamboo grass
• 篠笹しのざさbamboo grass
• 角柱かくちゅうbamboo