What does “kyojin” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “kyojin” to mean ‘giant’ or ‘giants’ in Japanese. 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. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “kyojin” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “kyojin”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “kyojin”.
- kyojin – 巨人 (きょじん) : a noun meaning ‘giant’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.
Japanese people use this noun to refer to a physically very big man. They also use this to describe a great person in a certain field. So, it can work in very similar ways that the English word, “giant”, does.
The 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.
Kyojin in kanji
The kanji expression of “kyojin” consists of the following two characters:
- 巨 : a kanji character used to mean ‘big’, ‘large’, ‘great’, or such in Japanese.
- 人 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘person’ in Japanese. This kanji can also be found in other words like “hito” and “koibito“.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “kyojin” literally means ‘a big person’ in Japanese. So, its kanji characters exactly express what it means.
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 “kyojin” through the detailed kanji check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “kyojin” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “giants” in Japanese
mukashi kono hoshi ni kyojin ga i ta – 昔この星に巨人がいた (むかしこのほしにきょじんがいた)
There were giants on this planet before.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- mukashi – 昔 (むかし) : a noun meaning ‘the past’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb. In the example, this works as an adverb to say “before” in Japanese.
- kono – この : a determiner used before a noun referring to a thing close to the speaker. In the example, this works before “hoshi” to say “this planet” in Japanese.
- hoshi – 星 (ほし) : a noun meaning ‘star’ or ‘planet’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something is. In the example, this is used after “kono hoshi” to say where the giants were.
- 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 “kyojin” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- i – い : one conjugation of the verb, “iru“, which works to express the existence of a person or people. In the example, this works to express the existence of “kyojin”.
- 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 “i” to make its past tense form, “i ta”.
This is a typical usage of “kyojin”. In this example, it works as a plural noun. When we want to say “giant” or “giants” in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “kyojin”
kare wa jazu no kyojin desu – 彼はジャズの巨人です (かれはじゃずのきょじんです)
He is the giant of jazz.
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 works after “kare” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- jazu – ジャズ (じゃず) : a noun meaning ‘jazz’ 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 joins “jazu” and “kyojin”. The formed phrase literally means ‘a giant of jazz’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is very similar to that of “of” in English.
- 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 works after the noun phrase, “jazu no kyojin”, to make it sound polite.
This is another typical usage of “kyojin”. In this example, it works as a metaphor for the person who is incredibly great in the field of jazz music.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “kyojin” and its kanji expression in detail. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- kyojin – 巨人 (きょじん) : a noun meaning ‘giant’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. These two kanji characters mean ‘big’ and ‘person’ respectively, so this noun literally means ‘a big person’. Japanese people use this to refer to a physically very big man. They also use this to describe a great person in a certain field. So, this noun can work in very similar ways that the English word, “giant”, does.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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