How to say "hair" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 髪かみnounThe hair on the head — your own or anyone's — and the default word for it. Talk of washing, cutting, coloring or styling one's hair takes this word.
- 髪の毛かみのけexpression, nounCovers the same head-hair ground as 髪 but pictures the hair as physical strands; it is also the word for a single hair — a stray strand on a sleeve, for instance.
- 毛けnounHair in the broadest sense — body hair, animal fur — rather than the hair on the head. For head hair this is seldom the word you want; 髪 covers that sense.
- nounThe borrowed word for hair on the head, at home in the language of hairdressing and beauty — salons, products, styling. For talking plainly about someone's hair, 髪 is the word you want.
- 頭髪とうはつnounThe hair on the head considered as a whole — a person's entire head of hair. You meet it in descriptions of appearance and in medical or official language about hair.
髪 is the default for head hair; 「髪の毛」 adds the single-strand sense; 毛 is hair in general, body or animal; 「ヘア」 belongs to hairdressing and beauty vocabulary; 頭髪 treats the hair as a whole head of hair.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
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