日本は美しい
nihon wa utsukushii
To say "japan is beautiful" in Japanese, use 日本は美しい (nihon wa utsukushii).
The phrase is used to express that the country of Japan is aesthetically pleasing. The core adjective used is 美しい, which refers to beauty. You can also use 日本は美しい国です to say "Japan is a beautiful country" by adding 国, which means "country". For a more poetic expression, 日本は美の国です can be used to say "Japan is the land of beauty".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 日本は美しい breaks down into 日本 (Japan), the topic marker は (wa) and the adjective 美しい (utsukushii, beautiful).
Which one should you use?
The adjective 美しい focuses on aesthetic or sublime beauty.
How do you pronounce it?
nihon wa utsukushii
Did you know?
- While 日本 is written with characters meaning 'sun's origin', the name is pronounced as both Nihon and Nippon. The latter version is often used on postage stamps and currency to sound more formal and patriotic.
- While 美しい is the adjective for beauty, the word for 'beautiful' in a functional or clean sense is 綺麗 (kirei). This word can mean both 'beautiful' and 'clean', meaning you can describe a beautiful view and a scrubbed floor using the same word.
- In Japanese, you can often drop the subject entirely. If you are already looking at a landscape in Japan, saying just 美しい is more natural than saying 日本は美しい.
Examples in context
- この国の美しい景色にはいつも感動します。I am always moved by the beautiful scenery of this country.
- 京都はめっちゃキレイだよ！Kyoto is really beautiful!
- 四季の変化を感じると、日本は美しいですね。Shiki no henka o kanjiru to, Nihon wa utsukushii desu ne.When I feel the changing of the seasons, Japan is beautiful, isn't it?
- 景色を見ていると、日本は美しいと思います。Keshiki o mite iru to, Nihon wa utsukushii to omoimasu.Looking at the scenery, I think Japan is beautiful.
- 改めて、日本は美しいです。Aratamete, Nihon wa utsukushii desu.Once again, Japan is beautiful.
Example conversation
Yota and Misaki are looking at a landscape photo together.
- 陽太 Yotaこの写真を見て。日本は美しいね。Kono shashin o mite. Nihon wa utsukushii ne.Look at this photo. Japan is beautiful, isn't it?
- 美咲 Misaki本当にそうですね。感動的です。Hontō ni sō desu ne. Kandōteki desu.It really is. It's moving.
- 陽太 Yotaいつかここに行ってみたいよ。Itsuka koko ni itte mitai yo.I want to go here someday.
- 美咲 Misakiいいですね。一緒に行きましょう。Ii desu ne. Issho ni ikimashō.That sounds great. Let's go together.
