電球
denkyū[dẽ̞ŋʲkʲɨː]
The English phrase light bulb is 電球 (denkyū) in Japanese.
電球 refers to an evacuated glass bulb containing a metal filament that produces light.
Meaning: evacuated glass bulb containing a metal filament that produces light (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 電 (den), meaning electricity and 球 (kyū), meaning sphere or ball.
How do you pronounce it?
denkyū
Did you know?
- The concept of 'electricity' in the first character 電 is actually a compound of 'rain' and 'lightning', reflecting an ancient way of viewing electrical phenomena.
- If you want to describe a light bulb that is 'burnt out', Japanese uses the verb 切れる (kireru), which means 'to be cut' or 'to snap'.
- In Japanese, the term 電球色 (denkyū-shoku) is used as a standard color name to describe the warm, yellowish hue of traditional incandescent bulbs.
Examples in context
- エジソンが電球を発明した。Edison invented the light bulb.Tatoeba #227978 by bunbuku, translation #65331 by CK
- トマス・エジソンが電球を発明した。Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.Tatoeba #200248 by mookeee, translation #37449 by CK
- 新しい電球を買ってきました。atarashii denkyuu o katte kimashita.I bought a new light bulb.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kenta and Misaki are in the living room where a lamp is not working.
- 健太 Kenta電球が切れたみたいだよ。denkyuu ga kireta mitai da yo.It looks like the light bulb burned out.
- 美咲 Misaki本当だ。新しいのを買ってこようか？hontou da. atarashii no o katte koyou ka?You're right. Should I go buy a new one?
- 健太 Kentaありがとう。お願いします。arigatou. onegaishimasu.Thank you. Please do.
- 美咲 Misakiすぐ戻るね。sugu modoru ne.I'll be back soon.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “light bulb” translations and entries 電球, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
