Post Office in Japanese // 30 Essential Words
A Visit to the Japanese Post Office
If you’re living in Japan, have you ever tried to send a parcel home? Or dealt with any other matter at the post office in Japanese?
Dealing with these kind of matters in a foreign language can be very tricky.
Today we’ll teach you everything useful about the post office in Japanese, so next time you’d like to send a postcard from any beautiful places you visit, it’ll be that bit easier.
If you think you already know enough vocabulary, make sure to test your knowledge in the quiz at the very bottom of this article!
Now let’s get started.
Post Office in Japanese | Useful Vocabulary
Post Office in Japanese | Vocab’ Summary
Post Office in Japanese | Sentence Examples
Post Office in Japanese | Vocab’ Quiz
Post Office in Japanese | FAQ’s
First of all, post office in Japanese is 郵便局 (yūbinkyoku)
📍 Japan Post (日本郵便株式会社 nippon’yūbin kabushikigaisha) is Japan’s postal service provider and delivers both domestically and internationally.
Post Office in Japanese | Useful Vocabulary
There usually is a post office 郵便局 (yūbinkyoku) in any city district in Japan, so it is very easy to send 郵便 (yūbin) mail.
Make sure to check out the opening hours 営業時間 (eigyō jikan) of your nearest post office, as they might differ from place to place.
If you have a registered address in Japan, the mailman 郵便配達員 (yūbin haitatsuin) will regularly come and deliver any mail you might receive 受け取る (uketoru).
At the post office you’ll be able to send various items:
- Letter | 手紙 tegami
- Registered letter | 書留 kakitome
- Postcard | はがき hagaki
- Parcel | 小包 kzutsumi
If you visit the Japan Post Bank branches, you could also do wire transfers 送金 (sōkin).
To send out a letter or a parcel you will need to fill out a document with several details, much like any other country.
First, fill in the name 名前 (namae) and family name 名字 (myōji) of both the sender 送り主 (okurinushi) and receiver 受取人 (uketorinin).
Second, you will need the address 住所 (jūsho) and the ZIP code 郵便番号 (yūbenbangō).
TOP TIP #1 | Fill in the document with a black pen, as it might be preferred to blue.
TOP TIP #2 | If you are sending outside of Japan, make sure to write the name of the country in Japanese as well!
The price of the envelope 封筒 (fūtō) and postage stamp 切符 (kippu) will depend on three things:
- The rate of postage 送料 (sōryō)
- Either you choose standard 標準 (hyōjun) or economical 経済的 (keizaiteki) shipping
- The weight of your item 重量 (jūryō)
Be careful of the price of sending out parcels outside of Japan, as prices can go up very quickly, and the price difference between sending out by plane 飛行機 (hikōki) or boat 船 (hune) is quite significant !
Make sure to also check the list of items you cannot ship out, to avoid any bad surprises.
Post Office in Japanese | Summary
Let’s check here all the words we previously mentioned.
Make sure to bookmark this article so you can come back and review these words whenever needed.
| English | Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post office | 郵便局 | ゆうびんきょく | yūbinkyoku |
| Mail (letters, etc.) | 郵便 | ゆうびん | yūbin |
| Mailman | 郵便配達員 | ゆうびんはいたついん | yūbin haitatsuin |
| Opening hours | 営業時間 | えいぎょうじかん | eigyō jikan |
| Letter | 手紙 | てがみ | tegami |
| Registered letter | 書留 | かきとめ | kakitome |
| Postcard | はがき | はがき | hagaki |
| Parcel | 小包 | こづつみ | kzutsumi |
| Money transfer | 送金 | そうきん | soukin |
| To receive | 受け取る | うけとる | uketoru |
| To send | 送る | おくる | okuru |
| Address | 住所 | じゅうしょ | jūsho |
| ZIP code or Postcode | 郵便番号 | ゆうびんばんごう | yūbenbangō |
| Sender | 送り主 | おくりぬし | okurinushi |
| Receiver, addressee | 受取人 | うけとりにん | uketorinin |
| Name | 名前 | なまえ | namae |
| Family name | 名字 | みょうじ | myōji |
| Rate (of postage) | 送料 | そうりょう | sōryō |
| Standard (adj) | 標準 | ひょうじゅん | hyōjun |
| Economical (adj) | 経済的 | けいざいてき | keizaiteki |
| Weight | 重量 | じゅうりょう | jūryō |
| Envelope | 封筒 | ふうとう | fūtō |
| Postage stamp | 切符 | きっぷ | kippu |
Post Office in Japanese | Useful Sentences
Let’s practice a few sentences with the vocabulary we just learned above.
First of all, let’s say you are looking at the nearest post office but have some troubles finding it. You might ask someone:
- 最寄の郵便局はどこですか？
- moyori no yūbinkyoku wa dokodesu ka?
- Where is the nearest post office?
Now, depending on the post office there might be an English speaking employee.
We always suggest to our students to use these opportunities to practice their Japanese skills, but in some situations you need to get your point across and avoid any mistakes.
You do not want your parcel to end up in another country than yours, do you?!
- 英語を話せますか？
- eigo o hanasemasu ka?
- Do you speak English?
- 英語を話す従業員はいますか？
- eigo o hanasu jūgyōin wa imasu ka?
- Do you have an English-speaking employee?
Let’s see a few more questions that could be useful:
| English | Characters | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| What is the current postage rate? | 現在の送料はいくらですか？ | genzai no sōryō wa ikuradesu ka? |
| What are the post office opening hours? | 郵便局の営業時間は何時ですか？ | yūbinkyoku no eigyō jikan wa itsudesuka? |
| How much is it to send a parcel to the US? | 米国に小包を送るのにいくらかかりますか？ | beikoku ni kodzutsumi o okuru no ni ikura kakarimasu ka? |
| When will my postcard arrive? | はがきはいつ届きますか？ | hagaki wa itsu todokimasu ka? |
Building sentences when you’re just starting out your Japanese learning journey is definitely not easy, especially if you are self-studying.
Which is exactly why we created our Japanese Grammar Bank, giving you access to free Japanese lessons that you can save and come back to anytime you need a quick review session.
We teach you how to read Katakana and Hiragana, use counters and particles, create basic sentences, tell the time and a lot more essential skills.
VOCABULARY QUIZ
Are you certain you retained all of the vocabulary from this article?
The post office in Japanese requires some specific words, and you need to make sure to learn them correctly for next time you wish to send something.
We’ve got a quick fire quiz for you, let us know your results in the comments!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do you say Post Office in Japanese?
Post office in Japanese is 郵便局 (yūbinkyoku).
How do you say Letter in Japanese?
Letter in Japanese is 手紙 tegami.
How do you say Postcard in Japanese?
Postcard in Japanese is はがき hagaki.
What is Japan’s postal service?
Japan Post (日本郵便株式会社 nippon’yūbin kabushikigaisha) is Japan’s postal service provider and delivers both domestically and internationally.
Can I send parcels from Japan to my country?
Yes of course.
Japan Post delivers both domestically and internationally.
When writing the receiver’s address make sure to include the name of your country in Japanese as well, otherwise your parcel might not even leave the country!
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