How to say “kiss” in Japanese
Honestly speaking, Japanese people quite often say “kisu” which originally came from the pronunciation of “kiss”. In this blog post, however, I will focus on the Japanese word, “kuchizuke”. 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 “kuchizuke”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “kuchizuke”.
- kuchizuke – 口付け (くちづけ) : a noun meaning ‘kiss’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.
Its definition and meaning are very simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
“Kuchizuke” in kanji
Below are the kanji characters used in “kuchizuke”.
- 口 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘mouth’ in Japanese.
- 付 : a kanji character widely used to express the act of touching, appending, attaching, or such.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “kuchizuke” literally means ‘mouth touching’. This kanji concept seems to be close to 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 “kuchizuke” through the detailed kanji check above.
Next, then, let me explain how to use this word through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “kiss” in Japanese
anata no kuchizuke wo wasure rare nai – あなたの口付けを忘れられない (あなたのくちづけをわすれられない)
I can’t forget your kiss.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- anata – あなた : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ 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 “anata” to make its possessive case, “anata no”, which means ‘your’ in Japanese.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “anata no kuchizuke”, to make the object in the sentence.
- wasure – 忘れ (わすれ) : one conjugation of the verb, “wasureru”, which means ‘to forget’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- rare – られ : one conjugation of the auxiliary verb, “rareru”, which is used after a verb to make its potential form. In the example, this is used after “wasure” to add the meaning of ‘can’ to it.
- 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 “rare” to deny its meaning.
This is a typical usage of “kuchizuke”. In the example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “anata no kuchizuke”, which means ‘your kiss’ in Japanese. When we want to say “kiss” in Japanese, this word would be a good choice. Honestly, however, even native speakers use the imported word, “kisu”, more often.
Example #2: another usage of “kichizuke”
kare wa kanojo ni kuchizuke shi ta – 彼は彼女に口付けした (かれはかのじょにくちづけした)
He kissed her.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after “kare” to make the subject in the sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say in which direction an action goes. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to say whom “kare” kissed.
- shi – し : one conjugation of the verb, “suru“, which means ‘to do’ or ‘to perform’ in Japanese. When it follows a noun, it can work to make the verb form of the preceding noun. In the example, it works in this way. It follows “kuchizuke” to make its verb form.
- 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, “kuchizuke shi”, to make its past tense form, “kuchizuke shi ta”, which means ‘to have kissed’.
This is another typical usage of “kuchizuke”. In this example, it works as a part of its past-tensed verb form, “kuchizuke shi ta”. This should be learnt together with its present tense, “kuchizuke suru”, which means ‘to kiss’ in Japanese.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained “kuchizuke” 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.
- kuchizuke – 口付け (くちづけ) : a noun meaning ‘kiss’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘mouth touching’. This concept is close to the meaning.
- kuchizuke suru – 口付けする (くちづけする) : the verb form of “kuchizuke”, meaning ‘to kiss’ in Japanese.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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