かばん
kabaneveryday, hiragana
In hiragana, "bag" is かばん (kaban), the word for a bag you carry such as a school bag or a briefcase. A paper or plastic bag is ふくろ (fukuro).
Meaning: bag for carrying things (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| かばん | kaban | everyday, hiragana |
| ふくろ | fukuro | paper or plastic bag, hiragana |
かばん fits bags with a handle or strap that you carry around. ふくろ is the thin bag you get at a shop.
Which one should you use?
Handbags and backpacks are often named with English loanwords in katakana such as バッグ (baggu), while かばん stays the general everyday word.
How does it change in a sentence?
Add の for possession, as in わたしのかばん (watashi no kaban), "my bag".
Did you know?
- かばん is also written with the kanji 鞄, which many people find hard to read, so the hiragana spelling is very common.
Examples in context
- わたしのかばんはあかいです。Watashi no kaban wa akai desu.My bag is red.
- かばんをわすれました。Kaban o wasuremashita.I forgot my bag.
Example conversation
A clerk at a convenience store in Tokyo rings up a customer who is buying snacks.
- Clerkふくろはいりますか。Fukuro wa irimasu ka?Do you need a bag?
- Customerはい、おねがいします。Hai, onegai shimasu.Yes, please.
- Clerkはい、どうぞ。Hai, dōzo.Here you are.
