The Meaning of kaimono [買い物] In Japanese

買い物
かいもの
Romaji: kaimono N5

What does 買い物 mean?

Translation and Meaning

buying things, shopping

Definition

買い物 (kaimono) means shopping; it denotes the activity of purchasing goods or running errands to obtain items, covering everyday needs like groceries as well as larger planned purchases, and is widely used in spoken and written Japanese to refer to the event or process of buying.

Type

noun (名詞); verbal noun / suru-verb (サ変名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • 1. The items acquired through shopping—the purchases themselves, distinct from the act.
  • 2. A shopping trip or errand: a specific outing undertaken to buy supplies or goods.
  • 3. Recreational shopping: buying as leisure or pastime rather than necessity.
  • 4. A commerce or UI label indicating shopping functions or purchased items in stores and e-commerce contexts.

Origin

Buying and market exchange have existed in Japan since ancient times, with formalized urban marketplaces expanding in the Edo period; the modern consumer notion of shopping grew significantly during the Meiji and Taisho eras with department stores and later 20th-century retail developments, which shaped the contemporary social practice captured by the term.

Composition

  • 買 (kai): buy, to purchase.
  • 物 (mono): thing, object, goods.
  • The compound 買い物 (kaimono) combines those elements to convey ‘buy-thing,’ i.e., the act of acquiring things or the goods obtained by buying.

Usage

Used across everyday speech, signage, receipts, and commerce contexts to refer to going to stores, doing errands, or the general act of buying; appropriate in casual conversation and neutral written contexts—from saying you need groceries to referencing online purchases or store categories.
💡 Tips
Picture handing over money and taking a single ‘mono’ (thing): the moment of exchange helps link kai (buy) + mono (thing) into 買い物 (kaimono).

Variations

  • ショッピング (shoppingu): loanword from English meaning shopping (casual/modern).
  • 買い出し (kaidashi): a shopping trip or errand, often for provisions.
  • 購入 (kounyuu): purchase (more formal, emphasizes the transaction).

Example Phrases

  • 二十歳 になって 初めて 一人で 買い物へ 行った。
    Hatachi ni natte hajimete hitori de kaimono e itta.
    I turned twenty and went shopping alone for the first time.
    Lista:
    • 二十歳 (hatachi) – age
    • になって (ni natte) – to become and connect
    • 初めて (hajimete) – for the first time
    • 一人で (hitori de) – alone
    • 買い物へ (kaimono e) – to go shopping
    • 行った (itta) – went
    In this sentence, 「二十歳」 marks turning twenty; 「になって」 is the te-form of なる, showing a change of state and linking to the next action.
  • 私は 矢鱈に 買い物を しすぎて 財布が すぐに なくなった。
    Watashi wa yatarani kaimono o shisugite saifu ga sugu ni nakunatta.
    I shopped recklessly and ran out of money immediately.
    Lista:
    • 私は (watashi wa) – I
    • 矢鱈に (yatarani) – recklessly
    • 買い物を (kaimono o) – shopping
    • しすぎて (shisugite) – did too much
    • 財布が (saifu ga) – wallet
    • すぐに (sugu ni) – immediately
    • なくなった (nakunatta) – was gone
    The adverb 「矢鱈に」 means ‘recklessly; indiscriminately’, used to modify the following verb.
  • 今日は友人と買い物の行き先がまだ見当がつかない。
    Kyou wa yuujin to kaimono no ikisaki ga mada kentou ga tsukanai.
    Today I still don’t know where to go shopping with my friend.
    Lista:
    • 今日 (kyou) – today
    • は (wa) – topic marker
    • 友人と (yuujin to) – with a friend
    • 買い物の (kaimono no) – shopping’s / for shopping
    • 行き先が (ikisaki ga) – destination (subject)
    • まだ (mada) – yet / still
    • 見当 (kentou) – rough idea
    • が (ga) – (subject marker)
    • つかない (tsukanai) – cannot be
    The phrase 見当がつかない expresses ‘to have no rough idea’; 「見当」 means a rough idea or estimate here.
  • 私は買い物袋のラベルを剥がすついでに、箱の貼り紙も剥がした。
    Watashi wa kaimonobukuro no raberu o hagasu tsuide ni, hako no harigami mo hagashita.
    I peeled off the label from the shopping bag, and I also peeled off the box’s sticker.
    Lista:
    • 私は (Watashi wa) – I
    • 買い物袋のラベルを (kaimonobukuro no raberu o) – the label on the shopping bag
    • 剥がすついでに (hagasu tsuide ni) – while peeling off
    • 箱の貼り紙も (hako no harigami mo) – the box’s sticker too
    • 剥がした (hagashita) – peeled off
    The target verb 「剥がす」 is transitive and takes a direct object marked by を; in this sentence, it is used as 「剥がす」 with ラベルを. The phrase 「剥がすついでに」 meaning ‘while peeling off (one thing)’ shows doing another action as a byproduct.
  • 私は町の交差点で急いで買い物袋を落とした。
    Watashi wa machi no kousaten de isoide kaimono fukuro o otoshita.
    I hurriedly dropped the shopping bag at the town’s intersection.
    Lista:
    • 私は (Watashi wa) – I
    • 町の (machi no) – town’s
    • 交差点で (kousaten de) – at the intersection
    • 急いで (isoide) – in a hurry
    • 買い物袋を (kaimono fukuro o) – shopping bag
    • 落とした (otoshita) – dropped
    Uso do 「の」 para ligar 「町」 a 「交差点」 formando 「町の交差点」, indicando localização; o 「で」 marca o local da ação.
買い物