金星
Kinsei[kʲĩɰ̃se̞ː]
The Japanese word for the planet Venus is 金星 (Kinsei). Wiktionary also lists ビーナス (Bīnasu) and ヴィーナス (Vīnasu).
Meaning: planet (name)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 金星 | Kinsei | [kʲĩɰ̃se̞ː] (narrow) |
| ビーナス | Bīnasu | [bʲiːna̠sɨ] (narrow) |
| ヴィーナス | Vīnasu | [bʲiːna̠sɨ] (narrow) |
金星 is used when referring to the astronomical planet Venus.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 金星 (Kinsei) literally means 'gold star'.
Which one should you use?
In contrast, the terms ビーナス and ヴィーナス are rare forms in Japanese.
How do you pronounce it?
Kinsei
Did you know?
- Because 金星 uses the character for 'gold', it shares a root with the Japanese word for 'Friday', 金曜日, as both are governed by the planet Venus.
- The term 金星 is part of a system where the five visible planets are named after the five elements of ancient Chinese philosophy, including metal, wood, water, fire and earth.
- The pronunciation of 星 in 金星 shifts from 'hoshi' to 'boshi' due to a linguistic phenomenon called 'rendaku', or sequential voicing, which occurs when two words combine.
Examples in context
- ミロのヴィーナスは美の極致だ。The Venus de Milo is the perfection of beauty.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use ヴィーナス in a name.Tatoeba #195027 by KK_kaku_, translation #32201 by Dejo
- 金星は地球と同じような大きさだけど、地球の方がほんの少し大きいよ。Venus is similar in size to Earth. Earth is just a little bit bigger.This sentence shows the standard use of 金星 when discussing the planet's size.Tatoeba #9812316 by small_snow, translation #5322666 by Hybrid
- 土星人のトムは、ツイッターで知り合った金星人のメアリーに会うために、夏休みに金星まで出かけることにした。Tom the Saturnian decided to set out for Venus over summer break to meet Mary the Venusian, who he met on Twitter.This sentence demonstrates how to use 金星 to describe an inhabitant of the planet.Tatoeba #2667410 by tommy_san, translation #2667415 by MethodGT
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yui and Kenta are looking at the night sky together.
- 結衣 Yuiあの明るい星は金星かな?Ano akarui hoshi wa kinsei kana?I wonder if that bright star is Venus?
- 健太 Kentaうん、あれが金星だよ。Un, are ga kinsei dayo.Yeah, that is Venus.
- 結衣 Yuiすごくきれいに見えるね。Sugoku kirei ni mieru ne.It looks very beautiful.
- 健太 Kenta本当だね。とても明るいよ。Hontou da ne. Totemo akarui yo.It really is. It's very bright.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “venus” translations and entries 金星, ビーナス, ヴィーナス, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ビーナス, 金星, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.