Goddess in Japanese: megami, explained based on its kanji expression

How to say “goddess” in Japanese

Japanese people would say “megami”. It is the Japanese word for ‘goddess’. 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 “megami”
• “Megami” in kanji
  • Example #1: how to say “the Statue of Liberty” in Japanese
  • Example #2: how to say “my goddess” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “megami”

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

• megami – 女神 (めがみ) : a noun meaning ‘goddess’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.

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.

“Megami” in kanji

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

• 女 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘woman’ or ‘female’ in Japanese. This kanji character can also be found in other words like “on’nanoko“.
• 神 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘god’ in Japanese. This kanji can also be found in other words like “kami“.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “megami” literally means ‘woman god’. So, what the kanji characters express is completely in line with the meaning.

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 “megami” through the detailed kanji check above. Then, let me explain how to use it through the examples below.

Example #1: how to say “the Statue of Liberty” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example.

• jiyuu – 自由 (じゆう) : a noun meaning ‘liberty’ or ‘freedom’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally the preceding noun works to modify the meaning of the following noun. In the example, this joins “jiyuu” and “megami”. The formed phrase literally means ‘the goddess of liberty’.

This is a typical usage of “megami”. “Jiyuu no megami” is the Japanese expression for ‘the Statue of Liberty’. This means, the Statue of Liberty is considered as the goddess of liberty in the Japanese language. It’s worth knowing, I think.

Example #2: how to say “my goddess” in Japanese

Below are the new words and particle used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• no – の : basically the same as explained in the last example. In this example, this is used after “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ 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 the noun phrase, “watashi no megami”, to make it sound polite.

This is another typical usage of “megami”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “watashi no megami”, which means ‘my goddess’ in Japanese. When we want to say “goddess” in Japanese, this word would be the best choice.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “megami” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the examples. Let me summarize them as follows.

• megami – 女神 (めがみ) : a noun meaning ‘goddess’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘woman god’. This kanji concept is in line with the meaning. When we want to say “goddess” in Japanese, this word would be the best choice.
• jiyuu no megami – 自由の女神 (じゆうのめがみ) : a Japanese expression for ‘the Statue of Liberty’. This literally means ‘the Goddess of Liberty’, though.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.