How to say “onion” in Japanese | 玉ねぎ (たまねぎ、tamanegi)

The Japanese vocabulary「玉ねぎ (たまねぎ、tamanegi)」means “onion.” Please learn the pronunciation and the example sentences.

Japanese Vocabulary and the Meaning

Key Word玉ねぎ
Hiraganaたまねぎ
Romaji Readingtamanegi
English Meaningonion

The Correct Japanese Pronunciations

Please learn the pronunciation by watching the attached video. You can also learn example sentences.

Our main YouTube channel: Ichiyo’s Japanese YouTube Channel
Our sub-YouTube channel (Japanese vocabulary videos): Ichiyo’s Subchannel

The Example Japanese Sentences

It is important to have skills in both non-honorific and honorific languages in order to use Japanese correctly.

I’ll mince the onion.

Plain Form:

たまねぎをみじんりにする。
Tamanegi o mijingiri ni suru.

Polite Form:

玉ねぎをみじん切りにします。
Tamanegi o mijingiri ni shimasu.


The onions my grandmother sent have arrived.

Plain Form:

祖母そぼからたまねぎがおくられてきた。
Sobo kara tamanegi ga okurarete kita.

If you do not know why I used “arrived” in this translation, please ask about it in our lesson or mail support. The key point is the difference between「送られた」and「送られてきた」.

Polite Form:

祖母から玉ねぎが送られてきました。
Sobo kara tamanegi ga okurarete kimashita.


I like dishes with onions.

Plain Form:

わたしは、たまねぎを使つかったりょうきだ。
Watashi wa, tamanegi o tsukatta ryōri ga sukida.

Polite Form:

私は、玉ねぎを使った料理が好きです。
Watashi wa, tamanegi o tsukatta ryōri ga sukidesu.


When onions are fried, they become sweeter and more delicious.

Plain Form:

たまねぎをいためるとあまみがして美味おいしくなる。
Tamanegi o itameru to amami ga mashite oishiku naru.

Polite Form:

玉ねぎを炒めると甘みが増して美味しくなります。
Tamanegi o itameru to amami ga mashite oishiku narimasu.


When I cut onions, the tears won’t stop.

Plain Form:

たまねぎをるとなみだまらなくなる。
Tamanegi o kiru to namida ga tomaranaku naru.

Polite Form:

玉ねぎを切ると涙が止まらなくなります。
Tamanegi o kiru to namida ga tomaranaku narimasu.


Peeling onions is a bit of a hassle.

Plain Form:

たまねぎのかわをむくのがすこ面倒めんどうくさい。
Tamanegi no kawa o muku no ga sukoshi mendōkusai.

Polite Form:

玉ねぎの皮をむくのが少し面倒くさいです。
Tamanegi no kawa o muku no ga sukoshi mendōkusai desu.

Japanese private online lesson
To Have Correct Japanese Language Skills

We teach Japanese to non-native Japanese learners. From our experience, 90% of Japanese learners use incorrect Japanese and often speak rudely, even though they have lived in Japan for many years.

Therefore, we created two services. One is our "Private Japanese Conversation Lesson" and the other is our "Daily Japanese Mail Support" service.

In the "Private Japanese Conversation Lesson," you can talk with a native Japanese teacher. Let us practice conversation together!

private Japanese conversation lesson

In the "Daily Japanese Mail Support" service, we will check your Japanese daily through email. Please show us the Japanese sentences that you wrote, your pronunciations, your handwritten Japanese characters, and so on. You can also ask us questions about Japanese.

Daily Japanese Mail Support

If you are a member of our private lesson or "Daily Japanese Mail Support," we can check and correct your Japanese every day.

The details are on our website: https://ichiwebsite.com/

Fruits and Vegetables