What does “kao” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “kao” to mean ‘face’ or ‘faces’ in Japanese. Very simple, I think. In this blog post, however, I will explain its definition and meaning. And in addition, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand how to use “kao” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “kao”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “kao”.
- kao – 顔 (かお) : a noun meaning ‘face’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.
Japanese people normally use this noun to refer to a face or faces. And in addition, they sometimes use it to mean a person or people. So, in a way, this Japanese noun is very similar to the English one, “face”.
The definition and meaning are very simple and clear, I think. Then, let me explain how to use this noun through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “face” in Japanese
kanojo wa kare no kao ga suki desu – 彼女は彼の顔が好きです (かのじょはかれのかおがすきです)
She loves his face.
Below are the new words 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 works after “kanojo” to make the subject word in the 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.
- 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 “kare no kao” 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 often use this word as one individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. In the example, actually, 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 “kao”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “kare no kao”, which means ‘his face’ in Japanese. When we want to refer to someone’s face in Japanese, this noun is a very good choice.
Example #2: how to use “kao” to mean a person
Next, let me explain how to use “kao” to mean a person through the example sentence below.
kare wa najimi no kao desu – 彼は馴染みの顔です (かれはなじみのかおです)
He is a familiar face.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- najimi – 馴染み (なじみ) : the noun form of the verb, “majimu”, which means ‘to become familiar’, ‘to get used’, or such in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the first noun can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join “najimi” and “kao”. The formed phrase literally means ‘a familiar face’ in Japanese.
This is another typical usage of “kao”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “najimi no kao”, which literally means ‘a familiar face’ in Japanese. This usage of “kao” is similar to that of the English noun, “face”. So, Japanese learners, especially those who are familiar with English, can easily understand this usage, I think.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “kao”. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- kao – 顔 (かお) : a noun meaning ‘face’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Japanese people normally use this to refer to a face or faces. And in addition, they sometimes use it to mean a person or people. So, this Japanese noun can work in very similar ways that the English one, “face”, does.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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