風船
fūsen[ɸɯ̟ːsẽ̞ɴ]
The English word 'balloon' is translated into Japanese as 風船 (fūsen). Wiktionary also lists バルーン (barūn).
Meaning: child’s toy (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 風船 | fūsen | [ɸɯ̟ːsẽ̞ɴ] (narrow) |
| バルーン | barūn | [ba̠ɾɯ̟̃ːɴ] (narrow) |
The term is used to refer to a balloon, typically a child's toy.
Which one should you use?
While both terms mean balloon, 風船 (fūsen) is the standard Japanese word for a toy balloon, whereas バルーン (barūn) is often used in technical contexts like hot air balloons or decorative balloon art. The form バルーン is a loanword from the English 'balloon'.
How do you pronounce it?
fūsen
Did you know?
- In Japanese manga and comics, the speech bubbles containing dialogue are referred to as 吹き出し (fukidashi), not 風船.
- The word 風船 literally translates to 'wind ship'.
- While 風船 refers to toy balloons, hot air balloons are typically called 熱気球 (nekkikyū), which means 'hot air sphere'.
Examples in context
- 風船がパンと弾けた。The balloon popped.This sentence shows the balloon popping.Tatoeba #11574617 by small_snow, translation #9689196 by megamanenm
- トムは風船をふくらませた。Tom blew up the balloon.This sentence describes blowing up the balloon.Tatoeba #8878036 by bunbuku, translation #1027011 by CK
- 風船が木に引っかかっていた。The balloon was caught in the tree.This sentence describes the balloon being caught in a tree.Tatoeba #83921 by KK_kaku_, translation #319795 by CK
- イベント会場をカラフルなバルーンで飾りました。We decorated the event space with colorful balloons.
- 熱気球祭りは世界中から観光客を魅了します。The hot air balloon festival attracts tourists from all over the world.
- パーティーのために風船を買おう！Let's buy balloons for the party!
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A child and her father are preparing for a party.
- 陽葵 Himariパパ、赤い風船がほしい！Papa, akai fusen ga hoshii!Daddy, I want a red balloon!
- 健太 Kentaいいよ。たくさんふくらませようね。Ii yo. Takusan fukuramaseyou ne.Okay. Let's blow up lots of them.
- 陽葵 Himariわーい！風船がいっぱいで楽しい！Waai! Fusen ga ippai de tanoshii!Yay! It's fun to have so many balloons!
- 健太 Kenta陽葵、気をつけて。割れるかもしれないよ。Himari, ki o tsukete. Wareru kamoshirenai yo.Himari, be careful. They might pop.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “balloon” translations and entries 風船, バルーン, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries バルーン, 風船, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
