• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Japanese Particles Master

particles for perfection

  • Home
  • grammar
  • particles
  • nouns
  • verbs
  • adjectives
  • adverbs
  • translation
  • Author
Home » nouns » Kekkon is the Japanese word for ‘marriage’, explained

May 12, 2023 By Masaki Mori

Kekkon is the Japanese word for ‘marriage’, explained

What does “kekkon” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “kekkon” to mean ‘marriage’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. 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. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “kekkon” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

  • Definition and meaning of “kekkon”
  • Kekkon in kanji
    • Example #1: how to say “marriage” in Japanese
    • Example #2: another usage of “kekkon”
  • Summary

Definition and meaning of “kekkon”

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

  • kekkon – 結婚 (けっこん) : a noun meaning ‘marriage’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.

This noun refers to a relationship between two people and cannot mean a ‘wedding ceremony’ in Japanese. It’s worth knowing, I think.

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

Kekkon in kanji

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

  • 結 : a kanji character used to refer to the act of binding or tying.
  • 婚 : a kanji character used to mean ‘marriage’ in Japanese.

These two kanji characters tell us that the formed noun literally means ‘binding marriage’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meaning, but still very close, I think. Marriage is a relationship binding two people.

kekkon in japanese

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 the meaning of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “kekkon” through the detailed kanji check above.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “kekkon” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

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

「kekkon ga kowai」 to kanojo wa it ta – 「結婚が怖い」と彼女は言った (「けっこんがこわい」とかのじょはいった)

“Marriage is scary,” she said.

Below are the new words used in the example 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 “kekkon” to make the subject in the clause.
  • kowai – 怖い (こわい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘scary’ or such in Japanese.
  • to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this works after the clause to indicate what she said.
  • 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.
  • it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu“, which means ‘to say’ or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
  • ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”.

This is a typical usage of “kekkon”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “ga”, to become the subject in the clause.

Example #2: another usage of “kekkon”

kekkon wa waruku nai yo – 結婚は悪くないよ (けっこんはわるくないよ)

Marriage is not bad.

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

  • waruku – 悪く (わるく) : one conjugation of the i-adjective, “warui“, which means ‘bad’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
  • nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. In the example, this is used after “waruku” to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is similar to that of “not” in English.
  • yo – よ : a sentence-ending particle used to state the fact or idea in a soft way. As the definition suggests, this is used at the end of the example sentence to state the speaker’s idea softly.

This is another typical usage of “kekkon”. When we want to mean ‘marriage’ in Japanese, this noun is always a very good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “kekkon” 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.

  • kekkon – 結婚 (けっこん) : a noun meaning ‘marriage’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘binding marriage’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meaning, but still very close, I think. Marriage is a relationship binding two people. It’s also worth mentioning here that this noun refers to a relationship between two people and cannot mean a ‘wedding ceremony’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.

  • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email Share via Email

Filed Under: nouns

Recent Posts

  • Komorebi is the Japanese word for ‘sunlight through leaves’
  • Nikkouyoku is the Japanese word for ‘sunbathing’, explained
  • Shinrinyoku is the Japanese word for ‘forest bathing’, explained
  • Hatsutaiken is the Japanese word for ‘first experience’
  • Hatsuyuki is the Japanese word for ‘first snow of the season’

Primary Sidebar

Written by Masaki Mori

Engineer and industrial translator for more than ten years. I teach Japanese to spread the Japanese culture. I always try to explain every single new word so that Japanese learners can understand the correct meanings of example sentences. Read More…

Follow Me on Social Media

  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Learn more words by kanji groups

Kanji for bad Kanji for beauty Kanji for big Kanji for cat Kanji for child Kanji for day Kanji for devil Kanji for eye Kanji for fire Kanji for god Kanji for ground Kanji for hand Kanji for he Kanji for heart Kanji for heaven Kanji for mood Kanji for moon Kanji for mouth Kanji for night Kanji for now Kanji for one of a pair Kanji for person Kanji for rain Kanji for time Kanji for tree Kanji for week Kanji for what Kanji for woman Kanji for year

Check recent posts

  • Komorebi is the Japanese word for ‘sunlight through leaves’
  • Nikkouyoku is the Japanese word for ‘sunbathing’, explained
  • Shinrinyoku is the Japanese word for ‘forest bathing’, explained
  • Hatsutaiken is the Japanese word for ‘first experience’
  • Hatsuyuki is the Japanese word for ‘first snow of the season’

Are you still looking for something?

Footer

Pages

  • Author

Categories

  • adjectives
  • adverbs
  • grammar
  • nouns
  • particles
  • translation
  • verbs
  • vocabulary

Written by Masaki Mori

Engineer and industrial translator for more than ten years. I teach Japanese to spread the Japanese culture. Read More…

Follow Me on Social Media

  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Feed

  • RSS

Copyright © 2017–2025 Japanese Particles Master All Rights Reserved.