How to say “shadow” in Japanese
Japanese people would say “kage”. It is the Japanese word for ‘shadow’. Very simple. In this blog post, however, I will explain it in detail and how to use it through an example sentence. And also, I will explain its related expressions which Japanese people often use. Let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “kage”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “kage”.
- kage – 影 (かげ) : a noun meaning ‘shadow’ in Japanese. This word can also work as a plural noun meaning ‘shadows’. Learn more about Japanese plural.
Basically Japanese people say “kage” to mean ‘shadow’ in Japanese; depending on the situation and context, they use it to mean ‘silhouette’ or ‘shade’. For these meanings, however, Japanese has more specific words. I will explain them later.
The definition and meaning of “kage” are quite simple and clear, I think. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence.
Example #1: how to say “shadow” in Japanese
kore wa watashi no kage desu – これは私の影です (これはわたしのかげです)
This is my shadow.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kore – これ : a demonstrative pronoun meaning ‘this’ in Japanese. Japanese people use it to call a thing close to them.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is used after “kore” to make the subject word in the 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, it is used after “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
- desu – です : au auxiliary verb put after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably it is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, it is used after the noun phrase, “watashi no kage”, to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “kage”. When we want to say “shadow” in Japanese, this word would be the best choice in most cases.
In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain two expressions related to “kage”. The first one is “hitokage”.
Silhouette in Japanese: hitokage
Below are the definition and meaning of “hitokage”.
- hitokage – 人影 (ひとかげ) : a noun meaning ‘silhouette’ in Japanese. This word can also work as a plural noun.
To understand this word more clearly, let me explain its kanji characters in detail. The first one means ‘person’ or ‘people’ in Japanese; the second means ‘shadow’ or ‘shadows’. So, we can understand that “hitokage” literally means ‘shadow of a person’ or ‘shadows of people’.
Then, let me explain how to use this word through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to say “silhouette” in Japanese
hitokage wo mi ta – 人影を見た (ひとかげをみた)
We saw a silhouette.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is used after “hitokage” to make the object word in the sentence.
- mi – 見 (み) : one conjugation of the verb, “miru”, which means ‘to see’, ‘to watch’, ‘to look’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb put after a verb or adjective to make its past tense form. Probably it is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, it is used after the conjugated verb, “mi”, to make its past tense form, “mi ta”.
This is a typical usage of “hitokage”. When we want to mean ‘silhouette’, more particularly ‘shadow of someone’, this word would be the best choice.
Shade in Japanese: hikage
Next, let me explain the definition and meaning of “hikage”.
- hikage – 日影 (ひかげ) : a noun meaning ‘shade’ in Japanese.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters. The first one means ‘sun’, ‘sunlight’, or ‘day’; the second means ‘shadow’. From these two kanji, therefore, we can understand that “hikage” means ‘shadow made by the sun’. This kanji concept can be interpreted as ‘shade’, I think.
Then, let me explain how to use “hikage” through the example sentence below.
Example #3: how to say “shade” in Japanese
hikage wa suzushii – 日影は涼しい (ひかげはすずしい)
It’s cool in the shade.
Below is the new word used in the example sentence.
- suzushii – 涼しい (すずしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘cool’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “hikage”. When we want to say “shade” in Japanese, this word would be the best choice.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the word, “kage”, and its related words through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- kage – 影 (かげ) : a noun meaning ‘shadow’ in Japanese. This word can also work as a plural noun meaning ‘shadows’.
- hitokage – 人影 (ひとかげ) : a noun meaning ‘silhouette’ in Japanese. This word can also work as a plural noun. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘shadow of a person’ or ‘shadows of people’.
- hikage – 日影 (ひかげ) : a noun meaning ‘shade’ in Japanese. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘sun shadow’. This kanji concept can be interpreted as ‘shadow made by the sun’, namely ‘shade’.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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