Shapes in Japanese

jonesinjapan · March 25th, 2009, 08:29

Yesterday I was doing a great job in Japanese class and was having a blast, we then had a verbal test and a part of it was to draw what they were saying, then it hit me, I do not know my shapes in Japanese, I understood 円as circle but that was about it.

I know its normally something we dont have to worry about when speaking Japanese but can anyone help me with a list of shape vocab that I can memorize?

UPGRAYEDD · March 25th, 2009, 09:01

丸 (maru) - is also circle.
正方形 (sei hou kei) - Square
長方形 (chou hou kei) - Rectangle
三角形 (san kaku kei) - Triangle

Those are kind of easy to remember.

For more complicated shapes you can increase the #角形. 五角形 (pentagon), 六角形 (hexagon), 八角形 (octagon).

mattyjaddy · March 25th, 2009, 19:16

I've always heard 四角（しかく） for square. Maybe it's colloquial or something. In general, I think the shapes as listed by UPGRAYEDD are more formal, perhaps the standard. In conversation, for instance, 三角形 is shortened to 三角（さんかく）. You can find the standard words in things like product descriptions and perhaps textbooks.

You might also want to know ハート - heart. You can also hear サークル - circle, but not too often.

I suggest checking out a 100 yen shop for kids workbooks on shapes and stuff. It can be a good place for that kind of vocab in context. No kanji, but establishing the vocab first can make adding the kanji later easier.

AliDimayev · March 25th, 2009, 21:47

It's like who actually sais triangular prism in everyday speech in english?

Levi · March 17th, 2010, 20:13

many times i thought how they write these words
they are too tough to make
he heh e

Crab · March 17th, 2010, 21:35

...What?

jandek · March 18th, 2010, 08:49

Levi, many times i too have tried to write these words, and have failed because they were too tough to make.

this is how we roll in elementary:

円　－まる/えん - circle
長円　－　ながまる - ellipse
半月　－　はんげつ - semicircle
三角　－　さんかく - triangle
四角　－　しかく - any sort of quadrilateral, but mostly a square.

brettlee · April 10th, 2010, 14:44

nice...........

March 25th, 2009, 08:29	#1 (permalink)
jonesinjapan Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: United States; Hoboken NJ Fujisato, Akita Posts: 2,756	Yesterday I was doing a great job in Japanese class and was having a blast, we then had a verbal test and a part of it was to draw what they were saying, then it hit me, I do not know my shapes in Japanese, I understood 円as circle but that was about it. I know its normally something we dont have to worry about when speaking Japanese but can anyone help me with a list of shape vocab that I can memorize? __________________ Superman once wrote on the wall: "Batman is a wimp." The next day Batman wrote: "Superman is Clark Kent."

March 25th, 2009, 09:01	#2 (permalink)
UPGRAYEDD VIP Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: 死国 Posts: 3,737	丸 (maru) - is also circle. 正方形 (sei hou kei) - Square 長方形 (chou hou kei) - Rectangle 三角形 (san kaku kei) - Triangle Those are kind of easy to remember. For more complicated shapes you can increase the #角形. 五角形 (pentagon), 六角形 (hexagon), 八角形 (octagon). __________________ You see, gentlemen, a pimp's love is very different from a square's... (郷に入っては郷に従え.) Last edited by UPGRAYEDD; March 25th, 2009 at 09:02. Reason: Spelled octagon wrong.

March 17th, 2010, 20:13	#5 (permalink)
Levi Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 1	many times i thought how they write these words they are too tough to make he heh e __________________ Levi

April 10th, 2010, 14:44	#8 (permalink)
brettlee Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 2	nice........... __________________ tom...

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

March 25th, 2009, 19:16	#3 (permalink)
mattyjaddy Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Japan Posts: 76	I've always heard 四角（しかく） for square. Maybe it's colloquial or something. In general, I think the shapes as listed by UPGRAYEDD are more formal, perhaps the standard. In conversation, for instance, 三角形 is shortened to 三角（さんかく）. You can find the standard words in things like product descriptions and perhaps textbooks. You might also want to know ハート - heart. You can also hear サークル - circle, but not too often. I suggest checking out a 100 yen shop for kids workbooks on shapes and stuff. It can be a good place for that kind of vocab in context. No kanji, but establishing the vocab first can make adding the kanji later easier.

March 18th, 2010, 08:49	#7 (permalink)
jandek Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Japanada Posts: 198	Levi, many times i too have tried to write these words, and have failed because they were too tough to make. this is how we roll in elementary: 円　－まる/えん - circle 長円　－　ながまる - ellipse 半月　－　はんげつ - semicircle 三角　－　さんかく - triangle 四角　－　しかく - any sort of quadrilateral, but mostly a square.