シャツ

Meaning in English

shirt

Sentence

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Dictionary

Word context

What it means

The Japanese word シャツ (shatsu) means "shirt": a Western-style upper-body garment worn as a standalone top or as part of layered outfits in contemporary Japanese clothing vocabulary.

Main meanings

Button-up or dress shirt used in business or formal wear, distinguished by collars and buttons.
Casual upper garments in retail categories when no subtype is specified, covering a range of fabrics and cuts.
Undershirts or innerwear in some everyday speech, especially when context implies layering.
Sports or team shirts (jerseys) when referring to numbered or branded athletic tops.

How to use it

Used across formal and casual contexts: in business speech it can mean a dress shirt worn under a suit, in fashion retail it labels upper garments generically, and in everyday conversation speakers often add modifiers to specify type, material, or purpose rather than changing the base word.

Variants and close terms

ワイシャツ (waishatsu) — business/dress shirt (often white, for office wear)
Tシャツ (T-shatsu) — T‑shirt (casual knit tee)
ブラウス (burausu) — blouse (women's dress/top)
下着 (shitagi) — underwear/undershirt (inner layer)

Etymology

シャツ (shatsu) is a gairaigo formed from English shirt; the form reflects Japanese phonotactics by inserting vowels and adapting consonants, resulting in the katakana rendering that preserves the basic consonant‑vowel pattern.

Origin

Western-style shirts became common in Japan during the Meiji period as Western clothing and tailoring practices were adopted; adoption expanded through military, business, and urban fashion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the loanword entered everyday Japanese alongside growing ready-made clothing industries.

Word class

noun (名詞), loanword/katakana (外来語・カタカナ語)