ジーパン

ジ

ー

パ

ン

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

jeans; dungarees

abbreviationusually written using kana alone

Common abbreviation of ジーンズパンツ (jeans pants). A wasei-eigo term widely used in everyday Japanese for denim jeans or dungarees.

wasei-eigo (Japanese-coined English), from jeans pants

Usage patterns

ジーパンをはくto wear/put on jeans
今日きょうはジーパンをはいて出でかけた。
I wore jeans out today.
ジーパンが破やぶれるfor jeans to get torn/ripped
膝ひざのところでジーパンが破やぶれてしまった。
My jeans got torn at the knee.

Related words

ジーンズN4
ジーンズ is the direct English loanword for jeans, while ジーパン is a wasei-eigo abbreviation of ジーンズパンツ that feels slightly more casual or old-fashioned.

Don't confuse with

ズボンN5
ズボン is the generic word for trousers of any material, whereas ジーパン specifically means denim jeans.

Counted with

枚まいN3
For thin, flat things — sheets, plates, boards, and unstructured garments like shirts.
着ちゃくN2
Use 着 when counting Ｇパン (jeans) as an item of clothing; 枚 is also natural when treating them as a single flat piece.

Written forms

ジーパンUsage75%
Standard katakana spelling; usually written in kana.
ＧパンUsage25%
Kanji-like abbreviation using the letter G; attested but very uncommon in modern writing. Learners will almost always see the katakana form.

Etymology

Wasei-eigo abbreviation of ジーンズパンツ (jeans pants). The exact derivation is straightforward; the term has been in common use since the mid-20th century.