How to Say "Cowboy" in Japanese

カウボーイ

kaubōi[ka̠ɯ̟bo̞ːi]

The English phrase "cowboy" is translated into Japanese as カウボーイ (kaubōi).

The term refers to a person who tends cattle.

Meaning: person who tends cattle (noun)

How do you pronounce it?

kaubōi

In Japanese media, a カウボーイ is often romanticized as a symbol of absolute freedom and individualism, values that contrast with traditional Japanese social collectivism.
In some contexts, the term 'cowboy' in English is used as a slang insult, but in Japanese, カウボーイ remains almost exclusively a neutral or positive descriptor of the Western style.
Japanese speakers may use the term カウボーイ to describe anyone adopting a rugged, lone-wolf persona, regardless of whether they have ever seen a cow.

トムは本物のカウボーイだ。
Tom is a real cowboy.
This sentence is useful for showing how to describe someone as a real カウボーイ.
Tatoeba #8670857 by small_snow, translation #3633840 by Hybrid
この映画は本物のカウボーイの生活を描いています。
This movie depicts the life of real cowboys.
僕のおじいちゃんは昔、カウボーイのように牛を飼っていました。
My grandfather used to raise cows like a cowboy.
彼は荒野を行くカウボーイだ。
Kare wa kouya o yuku kaubōi da.
He is a cowboy traveling through the wilderness.
カウボーイが牛を追っている。
Kaubōi ga ushi o otte iru.
A cowboy is herding the cattle.

Misaki and Yota are looking at a photo album from a trip to the US.

陽太 Yota

見て、本物のカウボーイが写っているよ。
Mite, honmono no kaubōi ga utsutte iru yo.
Look, there's a real cowboy in the photo.
美咲 Misaki

わあ、すごい！帽子がかっこいいですね。
Waa, sugoi! Bōshi ga kakkoii desu ne.
Wow, amazing! His hat is cool.
陽太 Yota

彼は牛を追いかける仕事をしているんだって。
Kare wa ushi o oikakeru shigoto o shite iru n da tte.
I heard his job is herding cattle.
美咲 Misaki

カウボーイの生活に憧れます。
Kaubōi no seikatsu ni akogaremasu.
I admire the cowboy lifestyle.

Sources

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