お祝い
o-iwai[o̞iβ̞a̠i]
The Japanese word for celebration is お祝い (o-iwai). Wiktionary also lists 祝賀 (shukuga) and 慶祝 (keishuku).
Meaning: social gathering for entertainment and fun (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| お祝い | o-iwai | [o̞iβ̞a̠i] (narrow) |
| 祝賀 | shukuga | [ɕɨ̥kɯ̟ɡa̠] (narrow) |
| 慶祝 | keishuku |
The term refers to a social gathering for entertainment and fun.
What does it mean word for word?
The word お祝い consists of the honorific prefix お and the noun 祝い, which means celebration or congratulation.
Which one should you use?
お祝い is the most common, everyday way to refer to a celebration or a gift given for a celebration. 慶祝 is a highly formal and literary term used in written contexts or very formal speeches to express congratulations.
How do you pronounce it?
o-iwai
Did you know?
- For certain celebrations, the amount of money given as お祝い must be an odd number, as even numbers are associated with things being split or broken.
- The kanji 祝 used in お祝い is also the root for the word 祝詞 (norito), which are ancient ritual prayers recited in Shinto shrines.
- In Japan, a specific type of 'celebration' involves the ritual of eating red and white foods, known as 紅白 (kouhaku), to signify luck.
Examples in context
- お祝いに赤飯でも炊こうかしら。As a celebration, I wonder if I should cook red rice or something?This sentence is useful for seeing how to use お祝い when discussing cooking something for a celebration.Tatoeba #9849320 by small_snow, translation #10232512 by terrywallwork
- 彼の誕生日をお祝いしましょう。Let's celebrate his birthday.
- 彼女の昇進祝典が行われました。Her promotion celebration took place.
- 明日、彼の誕生日をお祝いするんだ。Tomorrow, we'll celebrate his birthday.
- 明日は母の誕生日なので、家族でお祝いをします。Tomorrow is my mother's birthday, so we will celebrate with my family.
- 地元の祭りでは花火が見られます。You can see fireworks at the local festival.
- 友達の卒業をお祝いしようと思っています。I'm planning to celebrate my friend's graduation.
- 今日はお祝いがあります。Kyō wa oiwai ga arimasu.There is a celebration today.
- 素敵なお祝いですね。Suteki na oiwai desu ne.It is a wonderful celebration.
Example conversation
A man and a woman are talking about a party for a friend's promotion.
- 大翔 Hiroto今日はお祝いのパーティーですね。Kyō wa oiwai no pātī desu ne.It is a celebration party today, isn't it?
- 美咲 Misakiはい、とても楽しみです。Hai, totemo tanoshimi desu.Yes, I am looking forward to it very much.
- 大翔 Hiroto美咲さんも準備万端ですね。Misaki-san mo junbi bantan desu ne.You are fully prepared too, Misaki.
- 美咲 Misaki大翔さんが手伝ってくれるから大丈夫です。Hiroto-san ga tetsudatte kureru kara daijōbu desu.It is fine because you are helping me, Hiroto.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “celebration” translations and entries お祝い, 祝賀, 慶祝, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
