壁紙
kabegami[ka̠be̞ɡa̠mʲi]
The English word 'wallpaper' is translated into Japanese as 壁紙 (kabegami).
The term 壁紙 refers to both the physical decorative paper used to cover walls in a room and the digital desktop backgrounds seen on computers and smartphones.
Meaning: decorative paper for walls (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the action of applying or putting up wallpaper, you use the phrase 壁紙をはる. In this construction, the particle を (wo) is used to mark the object, which is followed by the verb はる (haru), meaning 'to stick' or 'to paste'.
How do you pronounce it?
kabegami
Did you know?
- If you are looking for wallpaper in a Japanese home improvement store, you might see the term クロス (cross), which comes from the English word 'cloth' but refers to wall covering materials.
- The word 壁 (kabe) is used in the Japanese idiom 壁にぶつかる (kabe ni butsukaru), which means 'to hit a wall' or encounter an insurmountable obstacle in life.
- The word 紙 (kami) in 壁紙 is a homophone for the Japanese word for 'God', 神, though they are written with different characters.
Examples in context
- デスクトップの壁紙を犬の写真にした。I used a photo of my dog for my desktop wallpaper.This sentence shows how to use 壁紙 when referring to a digital desktop background.Tatoeba #202248 by KK_kaku_, translation #39460 by zumley
- 壁紙を貼るTo put up wallpaperThis sentence demonstrates the phrase for the action of putting up 壁紙.
- この部屋の 壁紙 は素晴らしいデザインです。The wallpaper in this room has a wonderful design.
- この部屋の クロス 、気に入ってる？Do you like the wallpaper in this room?
- 新しい壁紙はとても綺麗ですね。Atarashii kabegami wa totemo kirei desu ne.The new wallpaper is very beautiful, isn't it?
Example conversation
Himari and Yota are discussing decorating their new room.
- 陽葵 Himari陽太、どんな壁紙がいいと思う？Yota, donna kabegami ga ii to omou?Yota, what kind of wallpaper do you think would be good?
- 陽太 Yota明るい色の壁紙がいいな。akarui iro no kabegami ga ii na.I'd like a light-colored wallpaper.
- 陽葵 Himariじゃあ、カタログで選ぼうか。jaa, katarogu de erabou ka.Then, shall we choose from the catalog?
- 陽太 Yotaうん、そうしよう。un, sou shiyou.Yeah, let's do that.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “wallpaper” translations and entries 壁紙, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR, Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
