How to say “blood” in Japanese
Japanese people would say “chi”. It is the Japanese word for ‘blood’. Very simple, I think. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word and how to use it through an example sentence. And also, I will explain how it is different from the similar word, “ketsueki”. My explanations would help Japanese learners use these two words properly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “chi”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “chi”.
- chi – 血 (ち) : a noun meaning ‘blood’ in Japanese.
Its definition and meaning are very simple and clear, I think. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.
Example #1: how to say “bleeding” in Japanese
kare no te kara chi ga de te iru – 彼の手から血が出ている (かれのてからちがでている)
His hand is bleeding.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “kare” to make its possessive case, “kare no”, which means ‘his’ in Japanese.
- te – 手 (て) : a noun meaning ‘hand’ in Japanese.
- kara – から : a case particle used to indicate a particular place where something starts. In the example, this is used after “te” to indicate where the blood comes out.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is used after “chi” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- de – 出 (で) : one conjugation of the verb, “deru”, which means ‘to come out’ in Japanese. It has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb or adjective to make its te form. In the example, this is used after “de” to make its te form, “de te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “iru”.
- iru – いる : an auxiliary verb used to express the continuity of the action described by the preceding verb. In the example, this is used after the te-formed verb, “de te”, to express the continuity of its action, ‘to come out’.
This is a typical usage of “chi”. In this example, it is used as a part of the widely-used expression, “chi ga de te iru”. Its original meaning is more like ‘blood is coming out’, but it’s usually translated as ‘to be bleeding’.
Definition and meaning of “ketsueki”
Next, then, let me explain the word similar to “chi”. “Ketsueki” is it. Below are the definition and meaning.
- ketsueki – 血液 (けつえき) : a noun meaning ‘blood’ in Japanese.
This word has exactly the same meaning as “chi”, but sounds much more formal. In fact, in formal situations, Japanese native speakers tend to say “ketsueki”. So, the difference between these two words is a degree of formality.
To understand this word more clearly, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
“Ketsueki” in kanji
Below are the kanji characters used in “ketsueki”.
- 血 : the same as explained above. This kanji character means ‘blood’ in Japanese.
- 液 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘liquid’, ‘fluid’, or such.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “ketsueki” literally means ‘blood liquid’. The meanings are overlapped, but this kanji concept is still in line with “blood”, I think.
Then, let me explain how to use “ketsueki” through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to say “blood type” in Japanese
watashi no ketsueki gata wa ō desu – 私の血液型はOです (わたしのけつえきがたはおーです)
My blood type is O.
Below are the new words and particle used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- no – の : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, it is used after “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
- gata – 型 (がた) : a suffix used to add the meaning of ‘type’, ‘model’, or such to the preceding word. In the example, this is used after “ketsueki” to add the meaning of ‘type’ to it.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is used after the noun phrase, “watashi no ketsueki gata”, to make the subject word in the sentence.
- ō – O (おー) : an alphabet character. In this example, it works as a noun to mean ‘(blood type) O’.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “ō” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “ketsueki”. In this example, it is used as a part of the longer noun, “ketsueki gata”, which means ‘blood type’ in Japanese. When we want to say “blood” in a formal way in Japanese, “ketsueki” would be the best choice.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the two Japanese words for ‘blood’ and how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- chi – 血 (ち) : a noun meaning ‘blood’ in Japanese. Japanese speakers tend to use this word in daily conversations.
- chi ga de te iru – 血が出ている (ちがでている) : a Japanese expression for ‘to be bleeding’. The original meaning is more like ‘blood is coming out’, but it’s usually translated as ‘to be bleeding’.
- ketsueki – 血液 (けつえき) : a noun meaning ‘blood’ in Japanese. This sounds more formal than “chi”. So, when we want to say “blood” in a formal way in Japanese, this word would be the best choice.
- ketsueki gata – 血液型 (けつえきがた) : a noun meaning ‘blood type’ in Japanese.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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