博物館
hakubutsukan[ha̠kɯ̟bɯ̟t͡sɨ̥kã̠ɴ]
In Japanese, the word for museum is 博物館 (hakubutsukan) or 美術館.
Meaning: building or institution (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 博物館 | hakubutsukan | [ha̠kɯ̟bɯ̟t͡sɨ̥kã̠ɴ] (narrow) |
| 美術館 | bijutsukan | [bʲiʑɨt͡sɨkã̠ɴ] (narrow) |
Use 博物館 when referring to a general museum, a natural history museum or a science museum. Use 美術館 specifically when referring to an art museum.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 博物館 is composed of 博物, meaning natural history or miscellaneous things and 館, meaning building or institution. The word 美術館 is composed of 美術, meaning fine arts and 館, meaning building or institution.
Which one should you use?
博物館 is the term for general, natural history or science museums, whereas 美術館 is used specifically for art museums.
How do you pronounce it?
hakubutsukan
Did you know?
- The character 術 (jutsu) in 美術 (bijutsu) also appears in words like 'technology' or 'technique', implying that art is a studied skill or craft.
- Japanese museums often use the term 資料館 to describe a 'reference hall' or a museum dedicated to specific archival documents.
- In Japanese, the character 館 used in 'museum' is also used for 'library' 図書館 and 'gymnasium' 体育館.
Examples in context
- 博物館にいるんだ。We're at the museum.This sentence uses 博物館 to indicate being at a museum.Tatoeba #11314698 by bunbuku, translation #10868503 by CK
- 今日は美術館に行くんだ。I'll visit a museum today.This sentence uses 美術館 to describe visiting an art museum.Tatoeba #10109365 by small_snow, translation #3071075 by CK
- 美術館はどこにありますか。Where is the museum?This sentence uses 美術館 to ask for the location of an art museum.Tatoeba #85546 by bunbuku, translation #282553 by CK
- 72 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are planning a trip to a science center.
- 健太 Kentaこの博物館はとても大きいね。Kono hakubutsukan wa totemo ookii ne.This museum is very big, isn't it?
- 美咲 Misakiそうだね。健太君、中に入ろう。Sou da ne. Kenta-kun, naka ni hairou.That's true. Kenta, let's go inside.
- 健太 Kenta美咲さんは、何に興味がある？Misaki-san wa, nani ni kyoumi ga aru?Misaki, what are you interested in?
- 美咲 Misaki私は恐竜の展示が見たいな。Watashi wa kyouryuu no tenji ga mitai na.I want to see the dinosaur exhibit.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “museum” translations and entries 博物館, 美術館, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
