車

Meaning in English

car

Stroke order

Animated kanji stroke order

車

Sentence

Related sentences

N3 電車が止まったから遅れたというわけだ Densha ga tomatta kara okureta to iu wake da The train stopped so that is why I was late N3 電車が遅れたせいで会議に間に合わなかった Densha ga okureta sei de kaigi ni maniawanakatta Because the train was late I missed the meeting N4 電車に乗り遅れてしまいました。 Densha ni noriokurete shimaimashita. I missed the train accidentally. N4 事故のため電車が遅れました。 Jiko no tame densha ga okuremashita. The train was delayed because of an accident. N4 車の代わりに電車で行きます。 Kuruma no kawari ni densha de ikimasu. I will go by train instead of by car. N4 電車が遅れていたのに意外と早く着いて助かったよ Densha ga okurete ita noni igai to hayaku tsuite tasukatta yo Even though the train was late I arrived earlier than expected and it helped N4 もう少しで電車に乗り遅れるところだった Mou sukoshi de densha ni noriokureru tokoro datta I almost missed the train N5 あれは車です。 Are wa kuruma desu. That is a car over there. N5 私は車を持っています。 Watashi wa kuruma o motte imasu. I have a car.

Dictionary

Word context

What it means

車 (kuruma) means a wheeled vehicle, most commonly an automobile used to carry people or goods. It is the everyday Japanese noun for personal cars and broader wheeled conveyances, used generically for anything recognized as a transport unit on roads or in everyday speech.

Main meanings

1. A carriage or railcar sense found in compound terms where the character indicates a vehicle unit rather than specifically an automobile.
2. Historical/archaic: a cart or wagon driven by animals or human power before motorization.
3. Technical/legal nuance: used to denote a vehicle class or unit in regulations and infrastructure contexts (lanes, vehicle counts, etc.).

How to use it

Common in everyday speech for talking about personal cars, shopping for or describing vehicles, traffic, parking and maintenance; in casual contexts speakers typically say the word directly while more formal registers often use compound or technical terms. The character also appears in compound words and official language for train cars, vehicle classifications, and signage.

Variants and close terms

自動車 (jidōsha) — motor vehicle / automobile
車両 (sharyō) — railcar / vehicle unit
クルマ (kuruma) — katakana form used in advertising or informal contexts
乗り物 (norimono) — ride / vehicle (broader term)

Composition

車 (kuruma) is a pictographic kanji representing a wheeled vehicle: the enclosed upper strokes suggest the vehicle body while the lower strokes imply an axle and wheels; the character by itself conveys the concept of a cart or vehicle and is the base for compounds indicating specific vehicle types.

Origin

The character and concept entered Japanese via Chinese writing; early references correspond to carts and wagons introduced from the continent, though wheeled transport played a limited role in ancient Japan. The modern association with motor vehicles grew rapidly after the late 19th–early 20th century when automobiles and related technology were imported and popularized during the Meiji and Taishō periods.

Word class

noun (名詞)

Word

Related words by kanji and components

N4 駐車場 chuushajou parking lot, car park N4 汽車 kisha steam train, train N5 自転車 jitensha bicycle N5 電車 densha train N5 自動車 jidousha automobile, car

Kanji