養魚鉢
yōgyobachi
The English word aquarium can be translated into Japanese as 養魚鉢 (yōgyobachi), 水槽 or アクアリウム.
Meaning: tank for keeping fish (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 養魚鉢 | yōgyobachi | |
| 水槽 | suisō | [sɨiso̞ː] (narrow) |
| アクアリウム | akuariumu | [a̠kɯ̟a̠ɾʲiɯ̟mɯ̟] (narrow) |
The term refers to a tank for keeping fish. While 水槽 refers to the physical tank, it is also the standard term used for large-scale water tanks in industrial or technical contexts.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 水槽 is composed of 水 (water) and 槽 (tank/vat/tub).
Which one should you use?
水槽 is the most common and natural way to refer to a fish tank or aquarium in daily Japanese.
How do you pronounce it?
yōgyobachi
Did you know?
- The word 水族館 (suizokukan), the term for a public aquarium, literally translates to 'water organism hall'.
- The word 養魚鉢 uses the character 鉢, which specifically refers to a bowl, reflecting the historical Japanese preference for round goldfish bowls over rectangular tanks.
- The katakana version アクアリウム is often used specifically to describe the aesthetic art of 'aquascaping' or high-end ornamental fish tanks, rather than just a glass box.
Example sentences for Japanese are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Yota and Himari are looking at a fish tank at home.
- 陽太 Yotaこの養魚鉢はとても綺麗だね。Kono yōgyobachi wa totemo kirei da ne.This aquarium is very beautiful, isn't it?
- 陽葵 Himari本当だね。魚が楽しそうだよ。Hontō da ne. Sakana ga tanoshisō da yo.It really is. The fish look happy.
- 陽太 Yotaもっと大きな養魚鉢が欲しいな。Motto ōkina yōgyobachi ga hoshii na.I want an even bigger aquarium.
- 陽葵 Himari陽太、それは欲張りすぎだよ。Yōta, sore wa yokubari sugi da yo.Yota, that is being too greedy.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “aquarium” translations and entries 水槽, アクアリウム, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
