Fireworks in Japanese: hanabi, explained based on its kanji expression

How to say “fireworks” in Japanese

Japanese people would say “hanabi”. It is the Japanese word for ‘fireworks’. 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. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “hanabi”
• “Hanabi” in kanji
  • Example #1: how to say “fireworks” in Japanese
  • Example #2: another usage of “hanabi”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “hanabi”

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

• hanabi – 花火 (はなび) : a noun meaning ‘fireworks’ in Japanese. This can also work as a singular noun. Learn more about Japanese plural and singular.

Its definition and meaning are simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

“Hanabi” in kanji

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

• 花 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘flower’ in Japanese. This kanji can also be found in other words like “hana“.
• 火 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘fire’ in Japanese.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “hanabi” literally means ‘flower fire’. This kanji concept is a good metaphor for fireworks, I think.

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 “hanabi” through the detailed kanji check above.

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

Example #1: how to say “fireworks” 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 is used after “watashi” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• 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 “hanabi” to make the object word in the sentence.
• suki – 好き (すき) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. In reality, however, Japanese people often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’. In the example, this is used to mean ‘to love’.
• 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 “hanabi”. When we want to say “fireworks” in Japanese, this word is the best choice.

Example #2: another usage of “hanabi”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• rainen – 来年 (らいねん) : a noun meaning ‘next year’ in Japanese.
• taikai – 大会 (たいかい) : a noun meaning ‘competition’ in Japanese.
• ni – に : a case particle used to indicate a place to which someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “hanabi taikai” to say where “I” will go.
• iki – 行き (いき) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku”, which means ‘to go’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese masu form. In the example, this is used after “iki” to make it sound polite.

This is another typical usage of “hanabi”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “hanabi taikai”, which means ‘fireworks festival’ in Japanese. This expression literally means ‘fireworks competition’, but ‘festival’ is more suitable in this context.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “hanabi” 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.

• hanabi – 花火 (はなび) : a noun meaning ‘fireworks’ in Japanese. This can also work as a singular noun. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘flower fire’. This kanji concept is a good metaphor for fireworks, I think. When we want to say “fireworks” in Japanese, this word is the best choice.
• hanabi taikai – 花火大会 (はなびたいかい) : a commonly-used expression for ‘fireworks festival’.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.