How to Say "Pottery" in Japanese

陶芸

tōgei[to̞ːɡe̞ː]

Pottery in Japanese is 陶芸 (tōgei).

陶芸 refers to the practice or craft of making pottery and encompasses the art of making ceramic objects.

Meaning: practise or craft of making pottery (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The word is composed of 陶 (tō), meaning ceramics or pottery and 芸 (gei), meaning art or craft.

While 陶芸 refers to the art or practice of making pottery, the word 陶器 (tōki) refers specifically to the finished ceramic products themselves.

The term 信楽焼 (Shigaraki-yaki) refers specifically to pottery made in the Shigaraki region.

tōgei

Kintsugi is a specialized form of 陶芸 where broken pottery is repaired with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, treating breakage as part of the object's history.
Japan has a specific term for the 'skin' or texture of the pottery called 土味 (tsuchiaji), which literally translates to 'earth taste'.
The suffix 焼 (yaki) in regional styles like 信楽焼 refers to the firing process and is the same root used in 焼き鳥 (yakitori) or 焼きそば (yakisoba).

土曜日、去年から通い始めた陶芸教室。
Saturday is the pottery class I've been attending since last year.
This sentence is useful for seeing how to use 陶芸 when discussing attending a class.
Tatoeba #74895 by fcbond, translation #328824 by fcbond
芸術祭で美しい陶芸作品を見ました。
I saw beautiful pottery pieces at the art festival.
今週の展示会では、土器が注目されています。
This week's exhibition is focusing on clay pottery.
最近、「陶磁器」のコレクションを始めました。
I recently started collecting ceramic pottery.
陶芸に興味があります。
tōgei ni kyōmi ga arimasu.
I am interested in pottery.
彼は陶芸の才能があります。
kare wa tōgei no sainō ga arimasu.
He has a talent for pottery.

Yuta and Yui are talking about their weekend hobbies at a cafe.

結衣 Yui

陽太さんは趣味は何ですか？
Yōta-san wa shumi wa nan desu ka?
Yuta, what is your hobby?
陽太 Yota

最近、陶芸を始めました。
Saikin, tōgei o hajimemashita.
I recently started pottery.
結衣 Yui

陶芸は楽しそうです！
Tōgei wa tanoshisō desu!
Pottery sounds fun!
陽太 Yota

はい、とても面白いですよ。
Hai, totemo omoshiroi desu yo.
Yes, it is very interesting.

Sources

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