タグ
tagu
In Japanese, the word for the computing term tag is タグ (tagu).
The katakana loanword タグ is used for both physical identification tags, such as those found on luggage and digital metadata tags used in computing. For the act of tagging, the noun form タグ付け is used.
Meaning: computing: keyword, term, or phrase associated with or assigned to data, media, and/or information (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
tagu
When do people say it?
While タグ is used for technical or physical labels, if you are referring to the children's game of tag, the most well-known term is 鬼ごっこ (Onigokko), which translates to 'demon game' or 'devil game'.
Did you know?
- In Japanese social media culture, the act of タグ付け (tagging) someone in a photo can sometimes be seen as a request for the person to 'validate' the post or as a way to publicly link their identity to a specific event.
- While タグ refers to digital labels, the children's game of tag is called 鬼ごっこ, which literally means 'demon game'. In this game, the person who is 'it' is referred to as the 鬼 ('oni'), a horned demon from Japanese folklore.
- In Japanese, the term for a physical price tag is often 値札 (nefu-da). This uses the kanji for 'price' and 'board/slip', a completely different linguistic root than the English 'tag'.
Examples in context
- スーツケースにこのタグを付けてね。Attach this tag to your suitcase.This sentence is useful for learning how to express attaching a タグ to an object.Tatoeba #8652548 by small_snow, translation #8078983 by CK
- ああそうそう、コメント欄のバグは文字間を調節するletter-spacingタグを使うと起こるものだったみたい。Oh, while I remember, it seems that that was a bug that occurs when you use the comment field's 'letter-spacing' tag which adjusts the tracking.This sentence shows how タグ is used when discussing technical elements like a 'letter-spacing' tag in a comment field.Tatoeba #75027 by fcbond, translation #328692 by fcbond
- 適切なタグを付けて管理しましょう。Tekisetsu na tagu o tsukete kanri shimashou.Let's use appropriate tags to manage them.
Example conversation
Two colleagues are discussing how to organize files on a shared drive.
- 蓮 Renこのファイル、どうやって分類する？Kono fairu, dou yatte bunrui suru?How should we categorize this file?
- 陽葵 Himari新しいタグを作って付けておいて。Atarashii tagu o tsukutte oite.Create and attach a new tag to it.
- 蓮 Ren了解。どんなタグがいいかな？Ryoukai. Donna tagu ga ii kana?Got it. What kind of tag would be good?
- 陽葵 Himari「未完成」というタグでいいと思う。'Mikansei' to iu tagu de ii to omou.I think a tag called 'incomplete' would be fine.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry タグ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
