How to say "thing" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- nounThe abstract sense: a matter, event, or fact — what happened, what someone said, the thing you like. It covers things that happen or are said rather than physical objects, which are もの.
- nounThe concrete sense: a physical object or article — something you can see, touch, or handle — and, loosely, stuff. This is the word for an ordinary thing as opposed to a matter or event.
- nounAn article or item in the sense of goods or merchandise. For a 'thing' in general it is seldom the word you want — it is really about goods, not objects or matters at large.
- 物件ぶっけんnounA concrete article or object, especially one treated as an item of property in a transaction such as renting or selling. For a thing in general this is not the word; もの covers that.
- 事柄ことがらnounA matter, affair, or circumstance: the abstract 'thing' as a situation or set of happenings. Like こと it concerns matters rather than objects, but it presents them as circumstances in their own right.
Use 「もの」 for concrete objects you can see or touch, 「こと」 for abstract matters and events, 事柄 for matters or circumstances discussed as such, 物件 for items treated as property, and 「しな」 for goods or merchandise.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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