Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
瓶 (びん, bin) Japanese meaning: bottle | Kotomora
Report an issue with this page
ある
。
There are three bottles of beer in the fridge.
My grandmother is steeping plum wine in a large jar.
Usage patterns 瓶びん の 蓋ふた を 開あ ける to open the cap/lid of a bottle
The bottle cap won't open easily.
瓶びん が 割わ れる for a bottle/jar to break or shatter
I dropped it and the bottle shattered.
〈 物もの 〉 を 瓶びん に 入い れる to put something into a bottle/jar
I store the honey by putting it in a jar.
空あ き 瓶びん を 返かえ す to return an empty bottle (e.g. for a deposit)
I returned the empty beer bottles to the shop.
Related words 瓶 refers to a glass or ceramic bottle/jar with a cap or cork, while 缶 is a sealed metal can opened with a tab or opener.
ボトル is a loanword usually used for Western-style bottles like wine or perfume, while 瓶 is the broader native Japanese term covering all kinds of bottles and jars.
瓶 refers to a narrow-necked glass or plastic bottle, while 壺 is a broader, often ceramic pot or jar with a wider mouth.
瓶 is the everyday word for a small glass or plastic jar/bottle, while ジャー usually implies a larger or insulated container.
Don't confuse with 缶 is a metal can, whereas 瓶 is a glass bottle or jar; both hold drinks or food but differ in material.
ピン (a pin) and 瓶 (びん, a bottle) look almost identical when written in katakana, differing only by a dakuten, but they refer to completely different objects.
瓶 (びん) is a glass or plastic bottle, much smaller and made of a different material than the large earthenware 甕.
ビン (bottle) differs from ピン only by a dakuten and is unrelated in meaning, so the two are easy to misread in katakana.
Word family· 42 vase; flower vase
Molotov cocktail; petrol bomb
glass bottle; glass jar; vial
bottling; putting into bottles · bottled; in a bottle
Written forms 瓶びん Usage 50%
Standard kanji spelling for bottle, jar, and similar containers.
ビン Usage 26%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially for loanword-like feel or emphasis.
びん Usage 17%
壜びん Usage 7%
Etymology The reading びん is a borrowing from Middle Chinese 瓶 (beng), referring to a jar or vase. The kanji 瓶 has been used in Japanese for containers since ancient times.
Show 18 more thermos; vacuum flask
one-shō bottle (approx. 1.8 litres)
beer bottle
bottled beer; bottle beer
large bottle
iron kettle; cast-iron kettle
urine bottle; bedpan; chamber pot (medical); urinal
earthenware teapot
empty bottle
one bottle
medium-sized bottle (of beer)
Okinawan portable ceramic sake jug
dropper bottle; dropping bottle
bottle-shaped; bottle-type
binkake (tea ceremony kettle stand)
broken bottle; bottle breakage
teapot
medicine bottle; vial
罎びん
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
