How to Say "Nail" in Japanese

爪

[t͡sɨme̞]

In Japanese, the English word "nail" can be translated as 爪.

The term 爪 is the most common way to refer to nail, referring to both fingernails and toenails.

Meaning: spike-shaped metal fastener used for joining wood or similar materials (noun)

Which one should you use?

The word 爪 refers to biological nails (fingernails or toenails) rather than metal hardware nails. The word for a metal hardware nail is 釘.

The word for fingernail, 爪, is a linguistic relative of the word for 'wife', which is 妻 (tsuma).
The word for metal nail, 釘, is used in the Japanese expression 釘を刺す (kugi o sasu), which literally means 'to drive a nail in' but actually means 'to give a warning' or 'to make a firm promise'.
The character 爪 is a pictograph that originally looked like a simplified drawing of an animal's claw.

爪が割れちゃった。
I broke a nail.
This sentence is useful for describing a broken nail using 爪.
Tatoeba #10281905 by small_snow, translation #1318534 by CM
爪切りが見当たらないんだよ。
I can't find my nail clippers.
This sentence is useful for expressing that you cannot find nail clippers containing 爪.
Tatoeba #11541001 by bunbuku, translation #12458954 by CK
ねえ、ここにしまってあった爪切り知らない？
Eh, do you know where the nail clippers that were here before are?
This-sentence is useful for asking about the location of nail clippers containing 爪.
Tatoeba #1818255 by bunbuku, translation #2693943 by WestofEden
1 more sentence on Tatoeba

Yui and Ren are looking at a broken wooden fence.

結衣 Yui

ここに爪が刺さっているよ。
Koko ni tsume ga sasatte iru yo.
There is a nail sticking out here.
蓮 Ren

危ないから触らないでね。
Abunai kara sawaranaide ne.
It's dangerous, so please don't touch it.
結衣 Yui

この爪を抜いたほうがいいと思う。
Kono tsume o nuita hou ga ii to omou.
I think we should pull this nail out.
蓮 Ren

そうだね。工具を持ってくるよ。
Sou da ne. Kougu o motte kuru yo.
You're right. I'll go get the tools.

Sources

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