What does “kao” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “kao” to mean ‘face’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail together with example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “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 plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
Native speakers use this noun normally to refer to a face or faces in Japanese. In addition, they sometimes use this to refer to a person or people representing a group.
The definition and meaning of “kao” are 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 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) : the stem part of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. Native speakers, however, often use this word as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. 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 “kao”. In this example, it works together with the possessive case, “kare no”, to mean ‘his face’ in Japanese. When we want to refer to someone’s face in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “kao”
kare wa nippon no kao desu – 彼は日本の顔です (かれはにっぽんのかおです)
He represents Japan.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- nippon – 日本 (にっぽん) : a noun meaning ‘Japan’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle joining two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this works to join “nippon” and “kao”. The formed phrase literally means ‘a face of Japan’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is similar to that of the English preposition, “of”.
This is another typical usage of “kao”. In this example, it works to refer to the person who represents Japan. In Japanese, the noun meaning ‘face’ is sometimes used to refer to a person or people representing a group.
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 plural. Native speakers use this noun normally to refer to a face or faces in Japanese. In addition, they sometimes use this to refer to a person or people representing a group.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
