インド人
indojin[ĩndo̞ʑĩɴ]
The English phrase 'indian' can be translated into Japanese in several ways depending on whether you are referring to a person or something related to the country. The default form is インド人 (indojin).
The term インド人 is used to refer to a person from India. If you wish to describe things, such as culture or food, that are related to India, you should use a different form. To refer to the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Japanese uses different loanwords such as インディアン or インディオ.
Meaning: of India (adj)
Which one should you use?
インド人 refers specifically to an Indian person, whereas インドの is used to describe things or concepts belonging to or originating from India. When discussing Native Americans, use インディアン or アメリカ先住民 instead of the term for people from the country of India.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To use 'Indian' as an adjective meaning 'of or relating to India' (for example, 'Indian food'), use the form インドの instead of the person-focused インド人.
How do you pronounce it?
indojin
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use インド人 to mean 'Indian food' or 'Indian culture'. In Japanese, you must use the adjective form インドの or specify the noun, such as インド料理 for Indian food.
Did you know?
- The phonetic spelling of India in Japanese, インド (Indo), is actually a loanword from Portuguese rather than English or Sanskrit.
- While インド人 describes a person, Japanese describes the concept of 'Indian-ness' or 'India-like' using the word インド風, where 風 means 'style'.
- A Japanese speaker might use インド人 to refer to a specific individual, but will switch to インドの方 (Indo no kata) to be more polite and respectful.
Examples in context
- 私の祖父はインド人の血を引いていた。My grandfather was part Indian.This sentence uses インド人 to describe someone's heritage.Tatoeba #163176 by bunbuku, translation #251336 by Dejo
- 「イングランド人とフランス人に望む土地を全てやればいい」とインド人の長は言った。「しかし彼らは大西洋・太平洋間の土地全てを取るつもりだ」とトムは言った。"Let the English and the French take all the land they want," said the Indian chief. "But they want to take all the land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Is that OK?" said Tom.This sentence uses インド人 to refer to a specific leader.Tatoeba #4715106 by anhgosho, translation #1824360 by Amastan
- 彼はインド人の友達がたくさんいます。Kare wa indo jin no tomodachi ga takusan imasu.He has many Indian friends.
Example conversation
Daigaku classmates are talking about a new student.
- 大翔 Hirotoあの子はインド人なの？Ano ko wa indojin nano?Is that person Indian?
- 陽葵 Himariうん、インドから来たばかりだって。Un, indo kara kita bakari datte.Yes, I heard they just came from India.
- 大翔 Hirotoへえ、英語がとても上手そうだね。Hee, eigo ga totemo jouzu sou da ne.Wow, their English seems very good.
- 陽葵 Himariそうだね。話してみたいな。Sou da ne. Hanashite mitai na.True. I'd like to try talking to them.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry インド人, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
