How to Say "Plane" in Japanese

飛行機

hikōki[çi̥ko̞ːkʲi]

The Japanese word for airplane is 飛行機 (hikōki). Wiktionary also lists 航空機 (kōkūki).

Meaning: airplane (noun)

Ways to say it

“plane” in Japanese
Japanese	Romanization (Wiktionary)	IPA
飛行機	hikōki	[çi̥ko̞ːkʲi] (narrow)
航空機	kōkūki	[ko̞ːkɯ̟ːkʲi] (narrow)

The term is used to refer to an airplane. If you wish to specify a paper plane, you can say 紙飛行機 by adding 紙 (paper) to the front of the word.

The word 飛行機 is composed of 飛行 (hikō), meaning 'flight' and 機 (ki), meaning 'machine' or 'mechanism'.

While 飛行機 is the common word for an airplane, 航空機 is a more technical and formal term used in aviation, law or official contexts.

hikōki

The word 飛行機 is a 'loan translation' or calque of the English phrase 'flying machine'.
In Japanese aviation, the word 機 is often used as a counter for aircraft, meaning you count planes by 'machines' rather than 'units'.
The character 機 used in 飛行機 is the same character used for 'opportunity' or 'chance' in other contexts, though here it specifically denotes a machine.

紙飛行機だよ。
I made a paper plane.
This sentence shows how to refer to a paper plane using 飛行機.
Tatoeba #151197 by small_snow, translation #263359 by CK
飛行機が見えた。
I saw a plane.
This sentence demonstrates the use of 飛行機 when seeing an airplane.
Tatoeba #85733 by bunbuku, translation #317979 by CK
飛行機に遅れた。
I missed the plane.
This sentence illustrates using 飛行機 in the context of missing a flight.
Tatoeba #12829730 by small_snow, translation #12169179 by zogwarg
160 more sentences on Tatoeba

Hiroto and Misaki are at the airport.

大翔 Hiroto

飛行機はもう来たかな？
Hikōki wa mō kita kana?
I wonder if the plane has arrived yet?
美咲 Misaki

あそこにあると思うよ。
Asoko ni aru to omou yo.
I think it's over there.
大翔 Hiroto

本当だ。大きい飛行機だね。
Hontō da. Ōkii hikōki da ne.
You're right. It's a big plane.
美咲 Misaki

早く乗りたいね。
Hayaku noritai ne.
I want to get on quickly.

Sources

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