The core idea: each word names a picture
Ask a Japanese child to draw sankaku and they will draw a triangle, because the word is a description: san is three and kaku is corner, so sankaku (三角) is literally three corners. Shikaku (四角), four corners, covers any square or rectangle. Where corners do not help, the shape is named after something it resembles: hoshigata (星形) is star shape. Patterns work the same way: mizutama (水玉), polka dots, is literally water drops.
Two things follow. Because these words name pictures, they are nouns, and nouns join other nouns with no: hoshigata no kukkī, mizutama no kasa. And because the pictures are simple, Japan uses them as signs: a circle means yes, a cross means no. The general word for shape is katachi (形). At a station lost property counter, a clerk is asking a passenger about a lunch box left on the train.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| どんな形ですか。 | Donna katachi desu ka. | What shape is it? |
| 四角くて、青いお弁当箱です。 | Shikakukute, aoi obentōbako desu. | It's a square, blue lunch box. |
| 蓋に何か模様はありますか。 | Futa ni nanika moyō wa arimasu ka. | Is there any pattern on the lid? |
| 白い水玉模様が入っています。 | Shiroi mizutama moyō ga haitte imasu. | It has white polka dots on it. |
Basic shapes: count the corners or name the look-alike
The diagram shows the shapes you need most. Maru (丸) is the everyday word for a circle; en (円), the same character as the currency, is the formal and mathematical word. Seihōkei and chōhōkei are the precise words for square and rectangle; in conversation shikaku covers both. Hishigata, diamond, is named after the hishi, or water caltrop, a pond plant with diamond-shaped leaves. In a nursery class, a teacher is holding up shape cards.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| これは何の形かな？ | Kore wa nan no katachi ka na? | What shape is this one? |
| 三角！ | Sankaku! | A triangle! |
| 角はいくつある？ | Kado wa ikutsu aru? | How many corners has it got? |
| 四つあるから、四角だね。 | Yottsu aru kara, shikaku da ne. | It has four, so it's a shikaku. |
| Word | Reading | Shape | How it is built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 丸 | maru | circle | Everyday word; marui is the adjective |
| 三角 | sankaku | triangle | Literally three corners |
| 四角 | shikaku | square or rectangle | Literally four corners |
| 正方形 | seihōkei | square | Literally correct square shape |
| 長方形 | chōhōkei | rectangle | Literally long square shape |
| 菱形 | hishigata | diamond | Water caltrop shape, after a pond plant |
| 星形 | hoshigata | star | Literally star shape |
| ハート | hāto | heart | From English; also hātogata |
| 楕円 | daen | oval | The school and maths word |
| 六角形 | rokkakukei | hexagon | Literally six-corner shape |
Describing objects: marui tēburu and sankaku no yane
Only two shape words are true adjectives: marui, round, and shikakui, square. They go straight before a noun and conjugate like any i-adjective: marui tēburu, shikakukute ōkii hako. Every other shape is a noun and joins with no: sankaku no yane, hātogata no kukkī, chōhōkei no heya. Sankakui is not standard Japanese. Colour words have the same split, where akai is an adjective but midori needs no, and a separate guide on colours covers it. Size words and measurements have their own guide too; here a size simply goes first: ōkii marui tēburu.
In shops, shape words often fuse with the noun: maru-tēburu, a round table, or sankaku-kōn, a traffic cone. At a furniture shop, a customer and an assistant are discussing tables.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 丸いテーブルを探しているんですが。 | Marui tēburu o sagashite iru n desu ga. | I'm looking for a round table. |
| 四角いタイプもございます。 | Shikakui taipu mo gozaimasu. | We also have square ones. |
| こちらの長方形のテーブルは六人用です。 | Kochira no chōhōkei no tēburu wa rokunin-yō desu. | This rectangular table seats six. |
| 角が丸いので、お子様がいても安心です。 | Kado ga marui node, okosama ga ite mo anshin desu. | The corners are rounded, so it's safe with children around. |
Pattern words: stripes, polka dots, checks and plain
Patterns are named after what repeats. Shima (縞) is a stripe, and the doubled shimashima is the everyday, slightly childlike word for striped. In clothes shops you hear katakana, with a twist: bōdā, from border, means horizontal stripes, while sutoraipu usually means vertical ones. Mizutama is polka dots, also dotto. Chekku is check, and the older word is kōshi (格子), lattice. Hanagara (花柄) is literally flower pattern, and gara is the suffix for any printed or woven pattern, as in hyōgara, leopard print. Muji (無地) is mu, without, plus ji, the ground of a fabric: nothing but the cloth itself.
Like shapes, patterns join with no: sutoraipu no shatsu, muji no T-shatsu. Garamono, patterned things, is the opposite of muji. A customer is browsing in a clothes shop and talking to an assistant.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ボーダーのシャツはありますか。 | Bōdā no shatsu wa arimasu ka. | Do you have any shirts with horizontal stripes? |
| こちらは無地のものもございます。 | Kochira wa muji no mono mo gozaimasu. | This one also comes in plain. |
| 水玉のワンピース、かわいいですね。 | Mizutama no wanpīsu, kawaii desu ne. | That polka-dot dress is cute. |
| チェックのスカートを試着してもいいですか。 | Chekku no sukāto o shichaku shite mo ii desu ka. | May I try on the checked skirt? |
| 柄物より無地のほうが合わせやすいです。 | Garamono yori muji no hō ga awaseyasui desu. | Plain things are easier to match than patterned ones. |
Maru, batsu and sankaku: shapes that mean yes, no and maybe
In Japan the simplest shapes double as a grading system. Maru means correct, yes, OK or available. Batsu, the cross, means wrong, no, NG or unavailable; in casual speech it is also peke. Sankaku sits in between: partly correct on a test, maybe on a schedule, so-so in a review. Above maru sits nijūmaru, literally double circle, meaning excellent.
Teachers circle correct answers, and marking is called marutsuke, literally attaching circles. Forms ask you to circle whichever option applies, where a Western form would ask for a tick. When colleagues pick a date for a drinks party, everyone marks each date with a circle, a triangle or a cross. Practice varies, but many teachers mark wrong answers with a tick or a slash rather than a harsh cross, so on a Japanese test a tick can mean wrong. The marks are also said aloud, by teachers in class, quiz hosts and colleagues comparing diaries.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 答え合わせをして、自分で丸つけしてください。 | Kotae-awase o shite, jibun de marutsuke shite kudasai. | Check the answers and mark your own work. |
| 正解は、丸です。 | Seikai wa, maru desu. | The correct answer is: true. |
| 該当するものに丸をつけてください。 | Gaitō suru mono ni maru o tsukete kudasai. | Please circle whichever applies. |
| 金曜日は三角です。 | Kin'yōbi wa sankaku desu. | Friday is a maybe for me. |
| その日はバツです。 | Sono hi wa batsu desu. | That day is no good for me. |
| Mark | Reading | On a test | Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|---|
| ◎ 二重丸 | nijūmaru | Excellent work | Best choice, highly recommended |
| ○ 丸 | maru | Correct | Yes, OK, available, allowed |
| △ 三角 | sankaku | Partly correct | Maybe, so-so, only with conditions |
| × バツ | batsu | Wrong | No, NG, unavailable, not allowed |
| 花丸 | hanamaru | Well done, for young children | A flower-shaped circle of praise |
Beyond the basics: kei, gata and maru meaning whole
Shape nouns usually end in one of two suffixes, both written 形. As a rule of thumb, Sino-Japanese compounds take kei: sankakukei, seihōkei, rokkakukei. Native words and loanwords take gata: hoshigata, hishigata, hātogata. Kei sounds like a maths lesson and gata like a bakery, which is roughly where you meet each.
Maru also works as a prefix meaning whole, because a circle has nothing missing: maru-ichinichi, a whole day; maru-anki, learning by heart, literally whole memorisation. Corners have the opposite feel: kado ga tatsu, literally corners stand up, means to cause friction, while maruku osameru, to settle it roundly, means to smooth things over. In writing, ○○, read marumaru, stands for a name left out, like so-and-so or X in English: ○○-san, ○○ eki.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 引っ越しで丸一日かかりました。 | Hikkoshi de maru-ichinichi kakarimashita. | The move took a whole day. |
| 教科書を丸暗記しても、話せるようにはなりません。 | Kyōkasho o maru-anki shite mo, hanaseru yō ni wa narimasen. | Memorising the textbook word for word won't make you able to speak. |
| そういう言い方をすると角が立つよ。 | Sō iu iikata o suru to kado ga tatsu yo. | Putting it like that will ruffle feathers. |
| なんとか丸く収めました。 | Nantoka maruku osamemashita. | I managed to smooth things over. |
Beyond the basics: traditional Japanese patterns
On tenugui towels, furoshiki wrapping cloths, yukata and souvenir packaging you meet older patterns with their own names. Each is named after what it depicts, so the core idea holds.
- Ichimatsu moyō (市松模様): a checkerboard of two colours, named after Sanogawa Ichimatsu, an Edo-period kabuki actor who wore it.
- Seigaiha (青海波): rows of overlapping arcs, literally blue sea waves.
- Asanoha (麻の葉): a star-like grid, literally hemp leaf, long used for babies' clothes as a wish for strong, straight growth.
- Kikkō (亀甲): interlocking hexagons, literally tortoise shell, a symbol of long life.
- Karakusa (唐草): curling vines, literally Chinese grass; a green furoshiki with this pattern is the cartoon shorthand for a burglar's bundle.
Common mistakes with shapes, patterns and marks
Sankakui tēburu. Because marui and shikakui are adjectives, learners assume every shape works the same way. It does not: say sankaku no tēburu.
Ticking a Japanese form or test. In many countries a tick means yes or correct, but a form that says maru o tsukete wants a circle, and on a test a tick can mean wrong. Circle unless you are shown a box to tick.
Choosing an option with a cross. In Britain you vote with a cross, and many forms say mark with an X. In Japan a cross means no or rejected, so it can reverse your answer. Circle what you choose.
Asking for sutoraipu when you want horizontal stripes. English stripes covers both directions, and English border means an edge. Say bōdā for horizontal and sutoraipu for vertical.
Reading sankaku as a warning. Triangular road signs make the shape feel alarming, but on a schedule or form it simply means partly or maybe.