泥棒
dorobō[do̞ɾo̞bo̞ː]
The Japanese word for 'thieves' is 泥棒 (dorobō).
泥棒 is the most common way to say 'thief' or 'thieves' in Japanese. It refers to people who steal things from others.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
泥棒 is a versatile term that can be used in both formal and informal settings. If you need a more formal or legalistic way to refer to a thief or a perpetrator of theft, you should use 窃盗犯.
How does it change in a sentence?
While 泥棒 can represent both a single thief and multiple thieves, you can add the suffix -tachi to create 泥棒たち to explicitly emphasize that there are multiple thieves.
How do you pronounce it?
dorobō
Did you know?
- In Japanese culture, the phrase 泥棒猫 meaning 'thief cat' is used to describe a woman who steals another person's husband or partner.
- Japanese has a specific term 泥棒心 which describes the 'thief's heart' or the psychological state of temptation and greed that leads one to steal.
- In Japanese pop culture, such as manga, authors often write ドロボウ in katakana instead of kanji to make the word pop visually on the page.
Examples in context
- 警官のくせに泥棒を怖がるなんて。Even though he's a policeman, he's afraid of thieves.This sentence shows how to use 泥棒 in a context about fear.Tatoeba #176375 by small_snow, translation #238088 by CM
- 私は泥棒を一網打尽に逮捕した。I arrested many thieves at the same time.This sentence demonstrates using 泥棒 when discussing the arrest of thieves.Tatoeba #154955 by Scott, translation #259584 by Scott
- 岡っ引きは泥棒を一網打尽に逮捕した。The thief-taker arrested many thieves at the same time.This sentence shows the use of 泥棒 in a sentence involving a thief-taker.Tatoeba #418449 by Scott, translation #418450 by Scott
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yui and Ren are talking about a break-in at a neighbor's house.
- 結衣 Yui隣の家に泥棒が入ったみたいだよ。Tonari no ie ni dorobō ga haitta mitai da yo.It looks like thieves broke into the house next door.
- 蓮 Renえっ、本当に？大変だね。E, hontō ni? Taihen da ne.What, really? That's terrible.
- 結衣 Yui泥棒が何を盗んだんだろうか。Dorobō ga nani o nusunda ndarō ka.I wonder what the thieves stole.
- 蓮 Ren警察がすぐに捕まえてくれるといいけど。Keisatsu ga sugu ni tsukamaete kureru to ii kedo.I hope the police catch them soon.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 泥棒, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
