Eye in Japanese: me, explained with its two kanji expressions

How to say “eye” in Japanese

Japanese people would say “me”. It is the Japanese word for ‘eye’ or ‘eyes’. In this blog post, I will explain it with its two different kanji expressions. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “me”
• Example #1: how to say “eyes” in Japanese
• Example #2: another usage of “me”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “me”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “me”.

• me – 目/眼 (め) : a noun meaning ‘eye’ in Japanese. This word can also work as a plural noun meaning ‘eyes’. Learn more about Japanese plural.

It has the two different kanji expressions. The first one is more widely used; the second one is used in particular fields like literature and medical science. So, when we want to write “me” in kanji, we should use the first one.

The second kanji character can also be pronounced “manako”. But the use of this pronunciation is quite limited. It is used mainly in literature, I think. Of course, we can say “manako” to mean ‘eye’ or ‘eyes’, but this would sound a bit weird even to Japanese native speakers.

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

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

Below are the new words used in the example 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, it is used after “kanojo” to make its possessive case, “kanojo no”, which means ‘her’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is put after the noun phrase, “kanojo no me”, to make the subject in the sentence.
• utsukushii – 美しい (うつくしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘beautiful’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “me”. In this example, it works as a plural noun to mean ‘eyes’ in Japanese.

Example #2: another usage of “me”

Below are the particle and new words 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.
• kumot – 曇っ (くもっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “kumoru”, which means ‘to get cloudy’. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle put after a verb or adjective to make its te form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “kumot”, to make its te form, “kumot 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 its preceding verb. In the example, it is used after the te-formed verb, “kumot te”, to express the continuity of the action, ‘to get cloudy’. So, the meaning of “kumot te iru” can be interpreted as ‘to be cloudy’.

This is another typical usage of “me”. Again it is used to mean ‘eyes’ in Japanese. When we want to say “eye” or “eyes” in Japanese, this word is the best choice in most cases.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “me” with its two kanji expressions. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• me – 目/眼 (め) : a noun meaning ‘eye’ in Japanese. This word can also work as a plural noun meaning ‘eyes’. The first kanji is more widely used; the second one is used in particular fields like literature and medical science. So, when we want to write “me” in kanji, we should use the first one. The second kanji character can also be pronounced “manako”. But the use of this pronunciation is quite limited.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.