How to Say "Quotes" in Japanese

引用

in'yō[ĩɰ̃jo̞ː]

The Japanese phrase for 'quotes' is 引用 (in'yō).

引用 refers to words or passages taken from a text or speech and repeated by someone else.

How do you pronounce it?

in'yō

The character 引 in 引用 means 'to pull' and 用 means 'to use'. Together, they describe the act of 'pulling' a piece of text out of its original source to use it elsewhere.
In digital communication like Japanese social media, users often use specific brackets like 【】 to highlight a quote or a headline, which functions differently than standard punctuation.
In Japanese literature and manga, quotation marks are sometimes omitted entirely if the dialogue is clear from the context. This creates a seamless flow between the narrator's thoughts and the spoken words.

彼はよくミルトンの言葉を引用する。
He often quotes Milton.
This sentence shows how to use 引用 with a person's words.
Tatoeba #1276654 by bunbuku, translation #292992 by CK
トムはよくシェイクスピアを引用する。
Tom often quotes Shakespeare.
This sentence demonstrates using 引用 in relation to an author.
Tatoeba #13342670 by Ninja, translation #4700066 by CK
彼はしばしばシェイクスピアから引用する。
He often quotes from Shakespeare.
This sentence illustrates quoting from a specific source using 引用.
Tatoeba #113586 by bunbuku, translation #290087 by CK
佐藤さんは言っています
Mr./Ms. Sato says
彼女は「おはようございます」と挨拶しました
She greeted with "Good morning."
あの子が言ってたんだけど
That girl said…
「やっぱり行くね」と言ってたんだ
"Yappari iku ne" to ittetan da. (He/She said, "I'm really going.")
彼は「最高だよ」と言ってたんだよ
He said, "It's awesome."
『千里の道も一歩から始まる』
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
1 more sentence on Tatoeba

Misaki and Kenta are discussing a college essay.

美咲 Misaki

このレポートに引用を入れなきゃいけないの？
Kono repōto ni inyō o irenakya ikenai no?
Do I have to include quotes in this report?
健太 Kenta

うん、信頼できる本から引用してね。
Un, shinrai dekiru hon kara inyō shite ne.
Yes, please use quotes from a reliable book.
美咲 Misaki

わかった。どこを引用すればいいかな？
Wakatta. Doko o inyō sureba ii kana?
I see. I wonder which part I should quote?
健太 Kenta

結論の部分の引用がおすすめだよ。
Ketsuron no bubun no inyō ga osusume da yo.
I recommend a quote from the conclusion section.

Sources

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