• 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 » Mahou is the Japanese word for ‘magic’, explained

January 14, 2022 By Masaki Mori

Mahou is the Japanese word for ‘magic’, explained

What does “mahou” mean in Japanese?

“Mahou” is not commonly used in Japanese conversations. Interestingly, however, many Japanese learners know this word as it is very often used in Japanese movies, songs, manga, anime, and the like.

Native speakers say “mahou” normally to mean ‘magic’ in Japanese. In this blog post, I will explain its definition and meanings 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 “mahou” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

  • Definition and meanings of “mahou”
  • Mahou in kanji
    • Example #1: how to say “magic” in Japanese
    • Example #2: another usage of “mahou”
  • Summary

Definition and meanings of “mahou”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “mahou”.

  • mahou – 魔法 (まほう) : a noun meaning ‘magic’ in Japanese. Depending on the context and situation, this can also mean ‘sorcery’, ‘magic power’, or such in Japanese.

Native speakers use this noun normally to mean ‘magic’ in Japanese. In addition, they sometimes use this as a metaphor for an unbelievable method or result. So, we need to be a bit careful with the context and situation.

The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

Mahou in kanji

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

  • 魔 : a kanji character used to mean ‘devil’, ‘demon’, or ‘something supernatural’ in Japanese.
  • 法 : a kanji character used to mean ‘method’, ‘process’, ‘law’, or such in Japanese.

These two kanji characters tell us that “mahou” literally means a ‘devil method’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meanings, but still understandable, I think. Magic is often a collection of methods which devils are likely to take to do something.

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

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

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

watashi no musume wa tokidoki mahou wo tsukau – 私の娘は時々魔法を使う (わたしのむすめはときどきまほうをつかう)

My daughter sometimes uses magic.

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

  • watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ 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 “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
  • musume – 娘 (むすめ) : a noun meaning ‘daughter’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
  • wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi no musume” to make the subject in the sentence.
  • tokidoki – 時々 (ときどき) : an adverb of frequency meaning ‘sometimes’ in Japanese.
  • wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “mahou” to make the object in the sentence.
  • tsukau – 使う (つかう) : a verb meaning ‘to use’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “mahou”. In this example, it means ‘magic’ and works as the object in the sentence. When we want to say “magic” in Japanese, anyway, this noun is a very good option.

“To cast spells” can be more natural than “to use magic” as the translation for “mahou wo tsukau”, but I kept the original meaning of the Japanese sentence.

Example #2: another usage of “mahou”

kanojo no shigoto wa marude mahou desu – 彼女の仕事はまるで魔法です (かのじょのしごとはまるでまほうです)

Her work is like magic.

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

  • kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese. In the example, this works together with the case particle, “no”, to say “her” in Japanese.
  • shigoto – 仕事 (しごと) : a noun meaning ‘work’ in Japanese.
  • marude – まるで : an adverb meaning ‘like’, ‘as if’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this works before “mahou” to add the meaning of ‘like’.
  • 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 “mahou” to make it sound polite.

This is another typical usage of “mahou”. In this example, it works as a metaphor for her magic-like work. This usage as well is very similar to that of “magic” in English, so those who are familiar with English can easily understand how to use this Japanese noun, I think.

Summary

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

  • mahou – 魔法 (まほう) : a noun meaning ‘magic’ in Japanese. Depending on the context and situation, this can also mean ‘sorcery’, ‘magic power’, or such in Japanese. This can also work as a metaphor for an unbelievable method or result. These two kanji characters literally mean a ‘devil method’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meanings, but still understandable, I think. Magic is often a collection of methods which devils are likely to take to do something.

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 Tagged With: Kanji for devil

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 true meanings of example sentences. Read More…

Follow Me on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • 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 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

  • Houkago is the Japanese word for ‘time after school’, explained
  • Shinjin is the Japanese word for ‘newbie’, explained
  • Wakeru is the Japanese verb for ‘to share’, explained
  • Kitaeru is the Japanese verb for ‘to train’, explained
  • Hi has two different meanings in Japanese, explained

Are you still looking for something?

Footer

Pages

  • Author
  • Privacy Policy

Categories

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

Feed

  • RSS

Follow Me on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2017–2023 Japanese Particles Master All Rights Reserved.