How to Say "Noun" in Japanese

名詞

meishi[me̞ːɕi]

The English phrase "noun" is 名詞 (meishi) in Japanese.

名詞 refers to a noun (phrase).

Which one should you use?

名詞 is the grammatical opposite of 動詞, which means 'verb'.

Japanese has a unique category of 名詞 called 'counter words'. You cannot simply say 'two books' but must use a specific noun like 冊 to count them based on their shape or type.
Unlike English nouns, Japanese 名詞 do not change form to indicate whether they are singular or plural. The word 本 can mean 'book' or 'books' depending entirely on the context of the sentence.
Japanese possesses 'onomatopoeic nouns' that describe sounds or states, such as しーん for a heavy silence. Unlike English onomatopoeia, these are often categorized as 名詞 or adjectives in dictionaries.

名詞から動詞が派生していることもあれば、その逆のこともある。
Sometimes a verb is derived from a noun and sometimes it is the other way around.
This sentence shows how a verb can be derived from a 名詞 and vice versa.
Tatoeba #80801 by tommy__san, translation #322914 by orcrist
「five minutes」って名詞句でいいんですよね？
It's OK to think of 'five minutes' as a noun phrase, right?
This sentence asks for confirmation that a term can be considered a 名詞 phrase.
Tatoeba #75122 by fcbond, translation #328597 by fcbond
「－osity」は語尾が「－ous」の形容詞から作られる抽象名詞の語尾。
'-Osity' is an abstract noun word ending created from the ending of an '-ous' adjective.
This sentence describes a specific ending used to create an abstract 名詞.
Tatoeba #75290 by fcbond, translation #328429 by fcbond
田中さん
Mr./Ms. Tanaka
本です
It is a book.
机です
It is a desk.
花瓶です
It is a vase.
友達の本
Friend's book
妹の机
Sister's desk
1 more sentence on Tatoeba

Ren and Yui are studying English grammar together at a cafe.

蓮 Ren

この単語は名詞ですか？
Kono tango wa meishi desu ka?
Is this word a noun?
結衣 Yui

はい、名詞ですよ。
Hai, meishi desu yo.
Yes, it is a noun.
蓮 Ren

なるほど、わかりました。
Naruhodo, wakarimashita.
I see, I understand.
結衣 Yui

蓮くん、勉強頑張ってね。
Ren-kun, benkyou ganbatte ne.
Good luck with your studies, Ren.

Sources

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