記事
kiji[kʲiʑi]
The Japanese word for article is 記事 (kiji). Wiktionary also lists 論文 (ronbun).
Meaning: story, report, or opinion piece (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 記事 | kiji | [kʲiʑi] (narrow) |
| 論文 | ronbun | [ɾõ̞mbɯ̟̃ɴ] (narrow) |
記事 is used to refer to a journalistic article, such as a news story, report or opinion piece found in media.
Which one should you use?
While 記事 refers to journalistic articles, use 論文 when you are specifically referring to a scholarly or academic paper, such as a thesis or a research article.
How do you pronounce it?
kiji
Did you know?
- The word 記事 (kiji) is a homophone for the word 生地 (kiji), which means 'fabric' or 'dough'. Depending on the context, a sentence about a 'material' could be mistaken for a 'news report'.
- In Japanese social media culture, the term まとめ記事 (matome kiji) refers to 'curation articles' that synthesize multiple web sources into one list. These are often distinct from traditional journalism and function like a modern 'digest'.
- The components of 記事 reveal its literal meaning as 'recording affairs'. The first character means 'to record' and the second means 'matter' or 'event'.
Examples in context
- この記事は嘘八百だ。This article is full of lies.This sentence is useful for expressing that an article is untrustworthy using 記事.Tatoeba #12735947 by small_snow, translation #12600522 by urro
- この記事って何についてなの？What's this article about?This sentence is useful for asking about the subject matter of an article using 記事.Tatoeba #9478154 by small_snow, translation #9478141 by CK
- その記事に目を通しておいて。Read through the article.This sentence is useful for requesting that someone review an article using 記事.Tatoeba #10796836 by bunbuku, translation #48770 by CK
- 彼の研究に関する記事は非常に興味深いです。The article about his research is very interesting.
- 彼の最新の論文は高く評価されています。His latest article is highly regarded.
- 34 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kenta and Yui are talking about a website.
- 健太 Kentaこの記事、すごく面白かったよ。Kono kiji, sugoku omoshirokatta yo.This article was really interesting.
- 結衣 Yui何について書いてあるの？Nani ni tsuite kaite aru no?What is it written about?
- 健太 Kenta新しい料理のレシピについての記事だよ。Atarashii ryōri no reshipi ni tsuite no kiji da yo.It's an article about new cooking recipes.
- 結衣 Yuiいいな。後で読ませてね。Ii na. Ato de yomasete ne.That's nice. Let me read it later.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “article” translations and entries 記事, 論文, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 記事, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
