Translation guide
The letter 'M' is used in various contexts in Japanese, from the Roman alphabet to abbreviations and symbolic uses. This guide covers how to refer to the letter itself, its use in measurements, ratings, and other common contexts.
Referring to the letter 'M' in the Roman alphabet
The standard Japanese name for the letter M, used in spelling, acronyms, and everyday contexts.
私の名前のイニシャルはMです。
My initial is M.
Indicating medium size for clothing, drinks, etc.
The letter M is used directly in Japanese to indicate medium size, often seen on clothing tags and menus.
このTシャツのMサイズをください。
Please give me a medium size of this T-shirt.
The kanji for 'medium', sometimes used instead of M in traditional contexts.
サイズは中でお願いします。
Medium size, please.
Unit of length
The standard Japanese word for meter. The symbol 'm' is also commonly used.
この部屋の広さは20平方メートルです。
This room is 20 square meters.
The symbol 'm' is widely understood in written Japanese, especially in technical contexts.
身長は1.75mです。
My height is 1.75 m.
Abbreviation for million, often in business or finance
The Japanese word for one million. In financial contexts, 'M' is sometimes used as an abbreviation, but it's less common than writing out the number.
このプロジェクトの予算は5百万円です。
The budget for this project is 5 million yen.
Pattern for expressing millions: number + 百万. Note that Japanese counts in units of 10,000 (万), so 1 million is 100万.
その会社の売上は300百万ドルです。
That company's revenue is 300 million dollars.
Referring to Mach number
The Japanese word for Mach, used in aviation and physics.
その飛行機はマッハ2で飛んでいます。
That airplane is flying at Mach 2.
Indicating male gender on forms or documents
The Japanese word for male. On forms, you might see 'M' for male and 'F' for female, but the Japanese terms are more common.
性別：男性
Gender: Male
Sometimes used on forms or in English-based systems, but less common than the Japanese word.
性別の欄にMと書いてください。
Please write M in the gender field.
The Roman numeral for 1000
The Japanese word for thousand. Roman numerals are not commonly used in Japanese, but when they appear, M is understood as 1000.
この建物はMCMXC年に建てられました。
This building was built in 1990.
A rating of 'M' for mature content, or a grade
Used for movie or game ratings, similar to 'R-rated' or 'Mature'. Often seen as 'M指定' or just 'M'.
このゲームはM指定なので、18歳未満は購入できません。
This game is rated M, so those under 18 cannot purchase it.
When writing in Japanese, the letter 'M' is usually written in full-width form (Ｍ) to match the surrounding characters, but half-width (M) is also common in digital contexts.
In English, 'M' can stand for many things. In Japanese, it's usually better to use the full word or a more specific abbreviation rather than just saying 'エム' unless you're literally talking about the letter.