How to say “princess” in Japanese
Native speakers would say “hime” to mean ‘princess’ 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 “hime” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “hime”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “hime”.
- hime – 姫 (ひめ) : a noun meaning ‘princess’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji character in detail.
“Hime” in kanji
The kanji expression of “hime” consists of the following two parts:
- 女 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘woman’ or ‘women’ in Japanese. This kanji can also be found in other words like “josei“.
- 臣 : a kanji character used to refer to those who obey a king.
From these two components, we can understand that the kanji of “hime” literally means ‘women obeying a king’. This concept is not completely in line with the meaning, but still very close, I think.
When we meet new kanji characters, we should check their kanji components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, components tell us a lot about meanings of characters they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “hime” through the detailed kanji check above. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “princess” in Japanese
kanojo wa kono kuni no hime desu – 彼女はこの国の姫です (かのじょはこのくにのひめです)
She is a princess of this country.
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 is used after “kanojo” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- kono – この : a determiner used before a noun referring to a thing close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before “kuni” to say “this country” in Japanese.
- kuni – 国 (くに) : a noun meaning ‘country’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun.
- no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the preceding noun can work as a modifier to describe the following noun. In the example, this joins “kono kuni” and “hime”. The formed phrase literally means ‘a princess of this country’. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is similar to that of “of”.
- 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 “hime” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “hime”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “kono kuni no hime”, to say “a princess of this country” in Japanese. Anyway, when we want to say “princess” in Japanese, it would be the best option.
Example #2: another usage of “hime”
kanojo wa kono gakkou no hime desu – 彼女はこの学校の姫です (かのじょはこのがっこうのひめです)
She is the princess of this school.
Below is the new word used in the example sentence.
- gakkou – 学校 (がっこう) : a noun meaning ‘school’ in Japanese.
This is another usage of “hime”. In this example, it works as a metaphor for a person behaving like a princess. It’s worth mentioning that native speakers sometimes use “hime” as a metaphor for a woman or girl behaving like a princess. Sometimes this metaphor works in a good way and sometimes works as sarcasm.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained “hime” 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.
- hime – 姫 (ひめ) : a noun meaning ‘princess’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural. Native speakers sometimes use this as a metaphor for a woman or girl behaving like a princess. Sometimes this metaphor works in a good way and sometimes works as sarcasm. It’s worth knowing, I think. Anyway, when we want to say “princess” in Japanese, this word would be the best option.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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