Translation guide
How to express 'marry' in Japanese, covering getting married, marrying someone, and related expressions.
来年結婚します。
I'm getting married next year.
彼女は医者と結婚した。
She married a doctor.
They got married last year.
A formal, legal term for 'marry' or 'enter into marriage'. Used in official documents or legal contexts.
二人は婚姻することを決めた。
The two decided to marry.
To express marrying a specific person.
The standard way to say 'marry someone'. The person you marry is marked with と.
彼と結婚したい。
I want to marry him.
彼女は医者と結婚した。
She married a doctor.
Formal/legal version of 'marry someone'. Rare in everyday speech.
彼女は貴族と婚姻した。
She married a nobleman.
To express that two people marry each other.
When the subject is plural or understood as a couple, 結婚する alone can mean 'get married (to each other)'.
私たちは結婚します。
We are getting married.
Literally 'become husband and wife', a more emotional or traditional way to say 'get married'.
やっと夫婦になれた。
We finally got married.
To express the state of being married.
The standard way to say 'be married'. Uses ている form to indicate a state.
彼は結婚していますか？
Is he married?
私は結婚していません。
I'm not married.
Formal/literary way to say 'be married'. Often used in written contexts or forms.
彼は既婚である。
He is married.
To express marrying and becoming part of a family, often with connotation of joining the spouse's household.
Used for a woman marrying into a family (traditional). Implies moving into the husband's household.
彼女は裕福な家に嫁いだ。
She married into a wealthy family.
Used for a man marrying into the wife's family (taking her family name).
彼は彼女の家に婿入りした。
He married into her family.
To express officiating or conducting a wedding.
Means 'hold a wedding ceremony'. Not exactly 'marry' in the sense of officiating, but often used when talking about the act of getting married ceremonially.
私たちは教会で結婚式を挙げた。
We got married in a church.
To officiate a ceremony. Used for the person conducting the wedding.
牧師が結婚式を司式した。
The pastor married them.
The English word 'marry' is sometimes borrowed as マリーする in very casual or playful contexts, but it is not standard and sounds unnatural. Stick to 結婚する.
結婚する is the everyday word for 'get married'. 婚姻する is a formal, legal term used in documents or official announcements. In conversation, always use 結婚する.