How Do You Say Movie Theater in Japanese?

Movie Theater|Theater

Going to the movies is a great way to relax, enjoy yourself and spend time with friends and family. But if you’re traveling to Japan, you’ll need to know the Japanese word for movie theater or cinema. The Japanese word for movie theater is “eigakan” (映画館).

Eigakan is made up of two kanji characters (Chinese characters used in written Japanese): “eiga” (映画) meaning “movie,” and “kan” (館) meaning “building.” So when put together, eigakan means “movie building.” This is the same as saying movie theater or cinema in English.

Eigakan can also be pronounced differently depending on the dialect of Japanese being spoken. In the Tokyo dialect, it’s pronounced “ee-gah-kahn.” In the Osaka dialect, it’s pronounced “eh-gah-kahn” and in other regions it can be pronounced slightly differently too. But all of these pronunciations refer to the same concept.

Conclusion:

So if you’re traveling to Japan and want to go see a movie, just remember that the Japanese word for movie theater or cinema is eigakan (映画館). It’s made up of two parts: “eiga” meaning “movie,” and “kan” meaning “building,” so it translates directly into English as “movie building.” No matter which dialect of Japanese you hear it in, eigakan will always mean movie theater or cinema.