観客
kankyaku[kã̠ŋʲkʲa̠kɯ̟]
The English word "audience" can be translated into Japanese as either 観客 (kankyaku) or 聴衆.
Meaning: group of people seeing a performance (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 観客 | kankyaku | [kã̠ŋʲkʲa̠kɯ̟] (narrow) |
| 聴衆 | chōshū | [t͡ɕo̞ːɕɨː] (narrow) [t͡ɕo̞ːʑɨ] (narrow) |
In Japanese, the word you choose for audience depends entirely on whether the people are primarily watching or listening to a performance.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 観客 is composed of the kanji 観, meaning "to watch/observe" and 客, meaning "guest/visitor". The word 聴衆 is composed of the kanji 聴, meaning "to listen" and 衆, meaning "multitude/masses".
Which one should you use?
Use 聴衆 specifically for a listening audience, such as people at a concert or a lecture. Use 観客 specifically for a watching audience, such as people at a play, a movie or a sporting event.
How do you pronounce it?
kankyaku
Did you know?
- Unlike in English, where an 'audience' can refer to a target demographic for a product, Japanese uses different terms like ターゲット or 層 for marketing audiences.
- While 観客 describes the audience, the word 客 also means 'guest'. This reflects a cultural view of the audience as guests being hosted by the performer.
- Japanese has a specific word 聴衆 for those who listen, but the verb 聴く is used for active, focused listening, unlike the more general 聞く for hearing sounds.
Examples in context
- 聴衆は深く感動した。The audience was deeply affected.This sentence shows how to describe an audience that was deeply moved using 聴衆.Tatoeba #126053 by bunbuku, translation #277938 by CK
- 聴衆は退屈そうだった。The audience looked bored.This sentence shows how to describe an audience that appeared bored using 聴衆.Tatoeba #126051 by bunbuku, translation #277941 by CK
- 聴衆はみな外国人だった。The audience were all foreigners.This sentence shows how to describe an audience consisting of foreigners using 聴衆.Tatoeba #126060 by tommy__san, translation #277932 by CK
- オーケストラコンサートの 鑑賞客 は熱心に演奏に聴き入りました。The audience at the orchestra concert attentively listened to the performance.
- その映画は若い 観客 に大変人気があります。That movie is very popular among young audiences.
- ライブコンサートの 観客 が歌に合わせて手拍子をしていた。The concert audience clapped their hands along with the song.
- 23 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two people are discussing a theater performance after it ended.
- 陽太 Yota観客はとても静かだったね。Kankyaku wa totemo shizuka datta ne.The audience was very quiet, wasn't it?
- 美咲 Misakiええ、集中していたみたい。Ee, shuuchuu shite ita mitai.Yes, they seemed to be concentrating.
- 陽太 Yota拍手もすごく大きかったよ。Hakushu mo sugoku ookikatta yo.The applause was also very loud.
- 美咲 Misaki素晴らしい公演だったね。Subarashii kouen datta ne.It was a wonderful performance.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “audience” translations and entries 観客, 聴衆, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
