How to Say "Native" in Japanese

ネイティブ

neitibu[ne̞ːtʲibɯ̟]

The English word 'native' can be expressed in Japanese as ネイティブ (neitibu).

In modern Japanese, the katakana word ネイティブ is most commonly used as a colloquial shorthand for 'native speaker' (ネイティブスピーカー).

Meaning: belonging to one by birth (adj)

How do you pronounce it?

neitibu

While English speakers use 'native' to describe themselves, using ネイティブ in Japan can sometimes sound slightly arrogant or boastful to locals. It is more common to use the phrase 日本語が母国語です (Japanese is my mother tongue) to sound more humble.
The word ネイティブ is strictly a loanword from English and cannot be used to describe 'native plants' or 'native people' in a historical or anthropological context. For those meanings, Japanese uses completely different, traditional words like 在来 (zairai).
If you want to say you are a 'native' of a specific place, such as 'a native of Tokyo', you would never use ネイティブ. Instead, you must use the word 出身 (shusshin) to indicate your place of origin.

イギリス英語のネイティブです。
I am a native speaker of British English.
This sentence is useful for identifying yourself as a native speaker of British English using ネイティブ.
Tatoeba #11634484 by small_snow, translation #11539435 by sundown
彼はネイティブのように英語を話す。
He speaks English like a native.
This sentence describes someone speaking English like a native using ネイティブ.
Tatoeba #2256949 by e4zh1nmcz, translation #294039 by CK
ネイティブが僕のミスを直してくれた。
A native corrected my mistakes.
This sentence describes a native speaker correcting mistakes using ネイティブ.
Tatoeba #10481805 by small_snow, translation #9422589 by DJ_Saidez
彼女は英語が母国語です。
She is a native English speaker.
49 more sentences on Tatoeba

Kenta and Yui are talking about a new language teacher.

健太 Kenta

新しい先生はネイティブですか？
Atarashii sensei wa neitibu desu ka?
Is the new teacher a native speaker?
結衣 Yui

はい、カナダ出身のネイティブですよ。
Hai, Kanada shusshin no neitibu desu yo.
Yes, they are a native speaker from Canada.
健太 Kenta

それはいいですね。勉強になりそうです。
Sore wa ii desu ne. Benkyou ni narisou desu.
That's great. It seems like it will be a good learning experience.
結衣 Yui

私もそう思います。楽しみですね。
Watashi mo sou omoimasu. Tanoshimi desu ne.
I think so too. I'm looking forward to it.

Sources

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