Translation guide
The English word 'leaf' refers to the flat, typically green part of a plant, but also has extended meanings like a sheet of paper, a part of a table, or a thin layer. This guide helps learners express these concepts naturally in Japanese.
The tree's leaves fell.
この植物の葉は大きい。
The leaves of this plant are big.
A colloquial, slightly childish or friendly word for leaf. Commonly used in everyday speech.
葉っぱが風で飛んでいった。
The leaves flew away in the wind.
Specifically 'tree leaf', often used in literary or poetic contexts.
木の葉が舞い散る。
Tree leaves flutter down.
A single sheet of paper, especially in a book or notebook.
The standard word for a page in a book, magazine, etc. Borrowed from English.
次のページを開いてください。
Please turn to the next page.
Counter for flat objects like sheets of paper. Use with numbers.
紙を一枚ください。
Please give me one sheet of paper.
Used in compounds like 一枚の葉 (one leaf of paper), but this is literary and rare. Not for everyday use.
彼は一枚の葉に詩を書いた。
He wrote a poem on a single leaf of paper.
A very thin sheet of material, such as metal or gold.
Refers to metal leaf or foil, e.g., gold leaf. Used in arts and crafts.
金箔を使った工芸品。
Crafts using gold leaf.
Loanword for foil, like aluminum foil. Common in cooking contexts.
アルミフォイルで包んでください。
Please wrap it in aluminum foil.
An extendable section of a table.
Specifically the leaf of an extendable table. Literally 'extension board'.
テーブルの拡張板を入れて大きくする。
Insert the table leaf to make it bigger.
Loanword from English 'leaf', sometimes used in furniture contexts, but less common than 拡張板.
このテーブルにはリーフが二枚付いています。
This table comes with two leaves.
While 葉 (は) can technically mean a sheet of paper in classical contexts, it is not used in modern Japanese for pages or sheets. Use ページ or 枚 instead.