Translation guide
The English word "garden" refers to a cultivated outdoor space with plants, flowers, or vegetables. In Japanese, the most common equivalent is 庭 (にわ), but other words exist for specific types of gardens, such as vegetable gardens, tea gardens, or traditional Japanese gardens. The choice depends on the type and context.
A cultivated area around a house or building, often with grass, flowers, or shrubs.
The most common and general word for a garden or yard. It can refer to any cultivated outdoor space, from a small home garden to a larger landscaped area.
庭で花を育てています。
I grow flowers in the garden.
子供たちが庭で遊んでいる。
The children are playing in the garden.
Polite form of 庭, often used when referring to someone else's garden or in formal contexts.
お庭がとてもきれいですね。
Your garden is very beautiful.
A garden where vegetables are grown.
Refers to a home vegetable garden, often a small plot for growing vegetables for personal use.
今年は家庭菜園でトマトを作っています。
This year I'm growing tomatoes in my vegetable garden.
A vegetable garden, can be larger or more formal than 家庭菜園. Often used in compound words.
A field for growing crops, often larger and more agricultural than a home garden. Can be used for vegetable gardens, but implies a more farm-like setting.
A garden designed in a traditional Japanese style, often with rocks, water, and carefully arranged plants.
Specifically refers to a traditional Japanese garden, often found at temples, shrines, or historical sites.
京都の日本庭園はとても美しいです。
The Japanese gardens in Kyoto are very beautiful.
A formal garden, often landscaped and open to the public. Can refer to Japanese or Western-style gardens.
A garden specifically designed for the Japanese tea ceremony, with a path leading to the tea house.
The garden path leading to a tea ceremony house, designed to create a tranquil atmosphere. A specialized term.
露地を通って茶室に向かいます。
We walk through the roji to the tea room.
A large, often public garden or park with flowers and plants.
Usually means 'park', but can be used for public gardens, especially when combined with other words like 花公園 (flower park/garden).
その公園にはバラ園があります。
That park has a rose garden.
Botanical garden, a place where a wide variety of plants are cultivated for display and study.
The activity of working in a garden, such as planting, weeding, etc.
A common phrase meaning 'to potter in the garden' or 'to do gardening' as a hobby.
父は休日によく庭いじりをしています。
My father often gardens on his days off.
Loanword from English, often used for gardening as a hobby, especially in a stylish or Western context.
最近ガーデニングを始めました。
I recently started gardening.
More formal term for horticulture or gardening as a practice. Often used in educational or professional contexts.
彼は園芸の専門家です。
He is a gardening expert.
庭 (にわ) is a general garden or yard, usually private. 庭園 (ていえん) is a formal, often public garden. 公園 (こうえん) is a park, which may contain gardens but is primarily a recreational area.
The loanword ガーデン is used in names like 'ビアガーデン' (beer garden) or 'キッチンガーデン' (kitchen garden), but it's not a general substitute for 庭. Using it to mean a home garden can sound unnatural.
学校の菜園で野菜を育てています。
We grow vegetables in the school garden.
My grandfather grows vegetables in his field/garden.
この庭園は四季折々の花が楽しめます。
You can enjoy seasonal flowers in this garden.
週末に植物園に行きました。
I went to the botanical garden on the weekend.