How to say “fun” in Japanese

楽しい

たのしいtanoshii

い-adjectiveJLPT N5Adjectives

The short answer

“Fun” in Japanese is 楽しい (たのしい), pronounced tanoshii.

Pronunciation

The word has 4 beats (morae), each about the same length. Tap a syllable to hear it, or play the whole word:

How to use it

Fun or enjoyable, for activities and times. For “interesting” or “funny”, use 面白い.

Example sentences

旅行は楽しかったです。りょこうはたのしかったです。
The trip was fun.
日本語の勉強は楽しいです。にほんごのべんきょうはたのしいです。
Studying Japanese is fun.

Conjugation

The most useful forms of 楽しい. The rules are explained in い- vs. な-adjectives.

Form	Japanese	Meaning
Plain	楽しいたのしい	fun
Polite present	楽しいですたのしいです	is fun
Negative	楽しくないですたのしくないです	isn’t fun
Past	楽しかったですたのしかったです	was fun
Past negative	楽しくなかったですたのしくなかったです	wasn’t fun
て-form	楽しくてたのしくて	fun and…
Adverb (く)	楽しくたのしく	adverb form (+ verb)

Quick practice

Test yourself0/3

What does {{楽しい}} mean?
How do you read {{楽しい}}?
Which word means “busy”?

面白いinteresting つまらないboring 難しいdifficult 簡単easy 優しいkind (gentle)親切kind (helpful)忙しいbusy 速いfast

FAQ

How do you say fun in Japanese?

Fun in Japanese is 楽しい (たのしい), pronounced “tanoshii”.

How do you write fun in Japanese?

It's written 楽しい with kanji, or たのしい in hiragana. Both are read tanoshii.

Is 楽しい on the JLPT?

Yes. 楽しい (tanoshii) is a common word at JLPT N5 level, so it's worth learning early.