ぺっと
pettoeveryday
In hiragana, "pet" is ぺっと (petto). A formal term is あいがんどうぶつ (aigan dōbutsu), used in official writing.
Meaning: a pet (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ぺっと | petto | everyday |
| あいがんどうぶつ | aigan dōbutsu | formal |
To say you have a pet use ぺっとを かっている (petto o katte iru), with かう (kau), "keep an animal". For a specific animal, say いぬ (inu) or ねこ (neko).
Which one should you use?
ぺっと (petto) is the normal word in conversation. あいがんどうぶつ (aigan dōbutsu) is a stiff written term and rare in speech.
When do people say it?
The loanword is normally written in katakana as ペット, so the hiragana spelling shown here is for reading. In shop signs you will see ペット.
Did you know?
- Small animals are counted with the counter ひき (hiki), which becomes ぴき (piki) after some numbers, as in いっぴき (ippiki).
Examples in context
- ぺっとを かっていますか。Petto o katte imasu ka.Do you have a pet?
- うちの ぺっとは ねこです。Uchi no petto wa neko desu.Our pet is a cat.
- ぺっとが かえりを まっている。Petto ga kaeri o matte iru.My pet is waiting for me to come home.
Example conversation
Tomo and Nami talk about animals at lunch.
- Tomoぺっと、かってる？Petto, katteru?Do you have a pet?
- Namiうん、いぬを いっぴき。Un, inu o ippiki.Yes, one dog.
- Tomoいいね。なまえは？Ii ne. Namae wa?Nice. What is its name?
