Translation guide
The English word "tag" covers a wide range of meanings, from physical labels and children's games to digital metadata and idiomatic phrases. This guide organizes the most common and useful meanings for English-speaking learners of Japanese.
A small piece of paper, plastic, etc., attached to an item to show its price, brand, or other information.
Specifically a price tag. The most common word for a tag showing the price of an item in a store.
Please remove the price tag from this shirt.
A loanword from English, used for various kinds of tags, including clothing tags with care instructions or brand labels. Often seen in fashion contexts.
The care symbols are written on the clothing tag.
A hanging tag, often attached with a string. Used for items like luggage or gifts. Less common in daily conversation.
Please attach a tag to your suitcase.
A children's chasing game where one person is 'it' and tries to touch others.
A keyword or label attached to digital content (e.g., blog posts, social media) for categorization.
To identify or mention someone in a social media post or photo.
To follow someone closely, often secretly or persistently.
To tail or shadow someone, often with a nuance of surveillance or investigation.
The detective tagged the suspect.
A casual verb meaning 'to follow' or 'to tail'. Often used in everyday speech.
Literally 'to attach to the back', meaning to follow closely.
I feel like someone is tagging along behind me.
To physically attach a tag or label to something.
A stylized signature or symbol used in graffiti.
The same loanword is used for graffiti tags. Context distinguishes it from other meanings.
There are several graffiti tags on the wall.
A short phrase added to the end of a statement to turn it into a question, like 'isn't it?' in English.
Japanese uses sentence-final particles like ね (seeking agreement) or よね (seeking confirmation) to function similarly to English question tags.
It's hot today, isn't it?
You're a student, aren't you?
A casual pattern equivalent to '..., right?' or '..., isn't it?'. Used in informal speech.
This movie is interesting, isn't it?
While 'tag' is used for many meanings, the children's game is always '鬼ごっこ' (onigokko). Using 'タグ' for the game will not be understood.
The loanword 'タグ' is extremely versatile. It can mean a physical tag, a digital tag, or a graffiti tag. The meaning is usually clear from the situation, but if you need to be specific, use compounds like '値札' (price tag) or 'ハッシュタグ' (hashtag).
この写真に「#旅行」というハッシュタグをつけた。
I added the hashtag '#travel' to this photo.
That man keeps tagging along behind me.