魔女
majo[ma̠ʑo̞]
The English word "sorceress" is translated into Japanese as 魔女 (majo). If unsure, use 魔女. Wiktionary also lists 女魔術師 (jomajutshi).
Meaning: female wizard (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 魔女 | majo | [ma̠ʑo̞] (narrow) [ma̠ɲ̟o̞] (narrow) |
| 女魔術師 | jomajutshi |
The term is used to refer to a female wizard.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 魔女 (majo) is composed of the characters for "magic" (魔) and "woman" (女).
Which one should you use?
魔女 (majo) is the most common term for a witch or sorceress, often carrying a fairy-tale or folklore connotation. In contrast, 女魔術師 (jomajutshi) is another way to denote a female practitioner of magic.
How does it change in a sentence?
魔女 is a noun and does not change its form based on grammatical case or number.
How do you pronounce it?
majo
Did you know?
- In modern Japanese pop culture, 魔女 is often used as a positive term for a strong, independent woman, diverging from the 'wicked witch' stereotype common in Western folklore.
- The character 魔 in 魔女 is also used in the word 魔方陣, which means 'magic square' in mathematics.
- Although the characters for 魔女 appeared in Japanese as early as 1283, the specific reading 'majo' was not officially recorded until 1910.
Examples in context
- 彼女は魔女です。She is a sorceress.
- 彼女は物語に出てくる魔女です。Kanojo wa monogatari ni detekuru majo desu.She is a sorceress that appears in the story.
- その魔女はとても強いです。Sono majo wa totemo tsuyoi desu.That sorceress is very strong.
- 私は不思議な魔女に会いました。Watashi wa fushigi na majo ni aimashita.I met a mysterious sorceress.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a fantasy movie.
- 結衣 Yuiあの映画の魔女はかっこいいね。Ano eiga no majo wa kakkoii ne.The sorceress in that movie is cool, isn't she?
- 蓮 Renそうだね、魔法がすごいよ。Sou da ne, mahou ga sugoi yo.She is. Her magic is amazing.
- 結衣 Yui蓮君は、どんな魔女が好き？Ren-kun wa, donna majo ga suki?Ren, what kind of sorceress do you like?
- 蓮 Ren僕は優しい魔女が好きだよ。Boku wa yasashii majo ga suki da yo.I like kind sorceresses.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sorceress” translations and entries 魔女, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 魔女, CC BY-SA 4.0.
