プラム
puramu
The English word 'plums' is translated into Japanese as プラム (puramu).
プラム refers to the sweet, stone fruit from a plum tree. It is a loanword used to describe the fruit.
Which one should you use?
While プラム is a loanword used for the fruit, the native Japanese word for the same fruit is スモモ.
How does it change in a sentence?
Japanese does not typically use plural markers for nouns like 'plums', so the word プラム can represent both 'plum' and 'plums'.
How do you pronounce it?
puramu
Did you know?
- If you are looking for 'plums' in a Japanese supermarket, you might actually find 'ume' instead, which refers to the Japanese apricot or pickled plum.
- The word ウメ is so culturally significant that the blooming of plum blossoms is a major poetic theme in Japanese literature and art, often symbolizing perseverance.
- The native word スモモ appears in a famous Japanese proverb, スモモも桃も桃のうち, which essentially means that similar things should be treated with the same logic.
Examples in context
- このプラムは食べごろだ。These plums are ripe.This sentence is useful for describing when the プラム is ripe.Tatoeba #223236 by small_snow, translation #60568 by CK
- このスムージーは梅味です。This smoothie has a plum flavor.
- このおにぎりには梅干しが入っています。This onigiri (rice ball) has pickled plums inside.
- 新鮮なプラムがたくさんあります。Shinsen na puramu ga takusan arimasu.There are many fresh plums.
- プラムのジャムを作りました。Puramu no jamu o tsukurimashita.I made plum jam.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two people are looking at a fruit stall at a market.
- 蓮 Renこのプラムはいくらですか？Kono puramu wa ikura desu ka?How much are these plums?
- 美咲 Misaki全部で五百円です。Zenbu de gohyaku en desu.It is five hundred yen for all of them.
- 蓮 Renじゃあ、これにします。Jaa, kore ni shimasu.Then, I will take these.
- 美咲 Misakiありがとうございます。Arigatou gozaimasu.Thank you.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry プラム, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
