Egao is the Japanese word for ‘smile’, explained

What does “egao” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “egao” to mean ‘smile’ or ‘smiling face’ in Japanese. Very simple, I think. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “egao” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “egao”
• Egao in kanji
  • Example #1: how to say “smile” in Japanese
  • Example #2: another usage of “egao”
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “egao”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “egao”.

• egao – 笑顔 (えがお) : a noun meaning ‘smile’ or ‘smiling face’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.

Native speakers use this noun to refer to a smile or smiling face in Japanese. So, its usage is very similar to those of the English words like “smile” and “smiling face”.

The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. To better understand this noun, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

Egao in kanji

The kanji expression of “egao” consists of the following two characters:

• 笑 : a kanji character used to express the act of smiling or laughing.
• 顔 : a kanji character used to mean ‘face’ in Japanese.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “egao” literally means a smiling face in Japanese. This literal interpretation seems to be completely in line with the meanings.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “egao” through the detailed check above.

Then, let me explain how to use “egao” through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “smile” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ 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 “kanojo” to make its possessive case, “kanojo no”, which means ‘her’ in Japanese.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kanojo no egao” to make the object in the sentence.
• suki – 好き (すき) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. In reality, however, native speakers quite often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese.
• 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 “suki” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “egao”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “kanojo no egao”, which means ‘her smile’ in Japanese. When we want to refer to a smile or smiling face in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.

Example #2: another usage of “egao”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• kie – 消え (きえ) : one conjugation of the verb, “kieru”, which means ‘to vanish’, ‘to disappear’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “kie” to make its past tense form, “kie ta”, which literally means ‘to have vanished’ in Japanese.

This is another typical usage of “egao”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “egao ga kie ta”, which means ‘a smile was gone’ in Japanese.

The original meaning of the Japanese sentence above is more like ‘his smile vanished’, but it has been translated more naturally.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “egao” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• egao – 笑顔 (えがお) : a noun meaning ‘smile’ or ‘smiling face’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. These two kanji characters literally mean a smiling face. So, this noun is very useful to refer to a smile or smiling face in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.