車
kuruma[ɕa̠]
In Japanese, the English phrase 'cars' is expressed as 車 (kuruma).
The word 車 refers to cars.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word 車 does not change its form to indicate plurality. The same word is used for both 'car' and 'cars'. Adding the particle の to 車 creates a possessive or attributive relationship, such as 'car's' or 'of the car'.
Did you know?
- The character 車 is a pictograph that originally looked like a bird's eye view of a chariot with two wheels.
- Ancient Japanese documents from the Nara period used the characters 久流末 to phonetically spell out the word kuruma.
- The word 車 is used for many things that roll, such as a 'wheel', a 'cart', or even a 'chariot'.
Examples in context
- 最近の車はすごい。Cars today are amazing.This sentence is useful for seeing how to describe modern cars using 車.Tatoeba #5748453 by daifons, translation #5747794 by CM
- 車に気をつけてね。Watch out for cars.This sentence is useful for a warning to watch out for 車.Tatoeba #11041729 by small_snow, translation #11041727 by CK
- 車の営業は何年目？How many years have you been selling cars?This sentence is useful for asking about years spent in the car sales industry using 車.Tatoeba #11559608 by small_snow, translation #11559657 by CK
- 105 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Misaki and Kenta are talking about transportation.
- 美咲 Misaki車を持っていますか？Kuruma o motte imasu ka?Do you have a car?
- 健太 Kentaいいえ、車はありません。Iie, kuruma wa arimasen.No, I don't have a car.
- 美咲 Misakiじゃあ、どうやって来ましたか？Jaa, dou yatte kimashita ka?Then, how did you get here?
- 健太 Kenta電車で来ました。Densha de kimashita.I came by train.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 車, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 車, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
