In today’s vocabulary lesson you are going to learn 7 ways how to say “bathroom“, “restroom“, and “toilet” in Japanese. In this complete guide, I will show you which Japanese words mean “bathroom” and which words are used for “toilet“. Because not all of them can be used interchangeably.
Otearai (お手洗い) is the most polite way to say “restroom” or “bathroom” in Japanese. In casual situations, however, the word toire (トイレ) is also commonly used to refer to a “toilet” or the “restroom”. Yokushitsu (浴室) and furoba (風呂場), on the other hand, only refer to the room where you take a bath.
Read on, if you want to learn all of the 7 words that are commonly used to say “bathroom“, “toilet“, or “restroom” in Japanese – including a very casual one that you probably shouldn’t use. After that, you can also learn how to excuse yourself to use the bathroom and how to ask “Where is the toilet?” in Japanese.
How to Say “Bathroom” in Japanese
- otearai – お手洗い
- toire – トイレ
- yokushitsu – 浴室
- furoba – 風呂場
- benjo – 便所
- basuruumu – バスルーム
- keshoushitsu – 化粧室
1. Otearai – Polite Way to Say “Restroom” or “Bathroom”
Otearai (お手洗い) is the most polite word you can use to say “bathroom” or “restroom” in Japanese. It can also be translated as “lavatory” and “toilet“, but its literal meaning is a “place where you wash your hands” since tearai (手洗い) actually means “washing one’s hands” or “hand basin“.
In most cases, this is the word you would want to use when you want to refer to a bathroom or ask where the bathroom is in a polite manner.
otearai
お手洗い
bathroom
restroom
toilet
lavatory
The “o” in otearai (お手洗い) is an honorific prefix that can be dropped. So you can also just say tearai (手洗い). It’s still kinda polite but sounds a little less formal.
tearai
手洗い
bathroom
restroom
toilet
lavatory
2. Toire – Casual Way to Say “Toilet” or “Bathroom”
In casual conversations with friends and family toire (トイレ) is one of the most commonly used Japanese words for “bathroom“. It is an English loanword and can be translated as “toilet“, “restroom“, “bathroom“, or “lavatory“.
While it is okay to use the word with people you know well, I don’t recommend you to use it in formal situations.
toire
トイレ
toilet
bathroom
restroom
lavatory
3. Yokushitsu – Means “Bathroom” in Written Japanese
Yokushitsu (浴室) is the Japanese word for “bathroom” and sometimes also for “bath“. It is only used when referring to the room in your house where you take a shower or a bath. The word is also more commonly used in written Japanese than in spoken Japanese.
yokushitsu
浴室
bathroom
(room where you take a bath)
4. Furoba – Means “Bathroom” in Spoken Japanese
Furoba (風呂場) is another Japanese word for “bathroom“. Just like yokushitsu (浴室) it refers to the room in your house where you take a bath or shower and not the toilet. However, since it is a more casual word, it is more commonly used in spoken Japanese than written Japanese.
furoba
風呂場
bathroom
(room where you take a bath)
5. Benjo – Slang Word for “Toilet” or “Water Closet”
Benjo (便所) is an extremely casual or slang word for “toilet” or “water closet“. The first part ben (便) usually means “convenience”, but it can also mean “excrement” or “feces“, while the kanji character 所 stands for “place“, “space“, or “room“. It’s better not to use this direct word in daily life.
benjo
便所
toilet
water closet
6. Basuruumu – English Loanword Meaning “Bathroom”
There is also an English loanword for “bathroom” in Japanese which is basuruumu (バスルーム). However, I have never heard any of my friends or any other person use this word to refer to a restroom or a bathroom. Consider it a survival phrase in case you forget the other words for toilet in Japanese.
basuruumu
バスルーム
bathroom
7. Keshoushitsu – Means “Powder Room ” in Japanese
The Japanese word for “powder room” is keshoushitsu (化粧室). It usually refers to a separate room without a toilet, bath, or basin, that is used by women to check their makeup. However, you might use it as well to ask for the restroom in a polite way, since they are usually right next to each other.
keshoushitsu
化粧室
powder room
How to Excuse Yourself to Use the Bathroom in Japanese
- Can I/May I go to the bathroom? – Otearai ni itte mo ii desu ka?
- Can I/May I use the bathroom? – Otearai o karite mo ii desu ka?
- I need to go to the bathroom – Toire ni ikitain desu ga…
Can I/May I go to the Bathroom?
“Otearai ni itte mo ii desu ka?” (お手洗いに行ってもいいですか？) is the polite Japanese expression to ask “May I go to the bathroom?” or “May I go to the restroom?“.
When asking for permission to go somewhere “…ni itte mo ii desu ka?” (〇〇に行ってもいいですか？) is the best phrase to use.
Instead of otearai (お手洗い) you can also use the more casual word toire (トイレ).
Otearai ni itte mo ii desu ka?
お手洗いに行ってもいいですか？
May I go to the bathroom?
May I go to the restroom?Toire ni itte mo ii desu ka?
トイレに行ってもいいですか？
May I go to the toilet?
Can I/May I Use the Bathroom?
The English phrase “May I use the bathroom?” is “Otearai o karite mo ii desu ka?” (お手洗いを借りてもいいですか？) in Japanese. Actually, the word kariru (借りる) means “to borrow” or “to lend“, but according to native speakers this sounds more natural than tsukau (使う), which is the Japanese word for “to use” (source).
Otearai o karite mo ii desu ka?
お手洗いを借りてもいいですか？
May I use the bathroom?
I Need to Go to the Bathroom
“Toire ni ikitain desu ga” (トイレに行きたいんですが…) is the most natural way to say “I need to go to the bathroom” in Japanese. The expression “…ni ikitai” (〇〇に行きたい) literally means “I want to go to…“, but here it shows that you need to go to the bathroom but have some reservations mentioning it.
Toire ni ikitain desu ga…
トイレに行きたいんですが…
I need to go to the toilet
If you want to sound a little politer you can also use the word oterai (お手洗い), of course.
Otearai ni ikitain desu ga…
お手洗いに行きたいんですが…
I need to go to the bathroom
How to Ask “Where is the Bathroom?” in Japanese
- Where is the bathroom? – Otearai wa doko desu ka?
- Excuse me, where is the bathroom? – Sumimasen, otearai wa doko desu ka?
Where is the Bathroom?
The polite way to ask “Where is the bathroom?” or “Where is the restroom?” is “Otearai wa doko desu ka?” (お手洗いはどこですか？). Otearai (お手洗い) is the polite word for “bathroom” or “restroom” and “…wa doko desu ka?” (〇〇はどこですか) is the Japanese expression for “Where is…“.
Otearai wa doko desu ka?
お手洗いはどこですか？
Where is the bathroom?
Where is the restroom?
In more casual situations you can also use the words tearai (手洗い) or toire (トイレ) instead of otearai (お手洗い).
Toire wa doko desu ka?
トイレはどこですか？
Where is the toilet?
Where is the restroom?Tearai wa doko desu ka?
手洗いはどこですか？
Where is the bathroom?
As a woman, you might want to use the word for powder room, which is keshoushitsu (化粧室) when asking for the way to the restrooms in Japanese. However, please note that usually the powder room and the bathroom are usually separate rooms.
Keshoushitsu wa doko desu ka?
化粧室はどこですか？
Where is the powder room?
Where is the bathroom?
Excuse me, where is the bathroom?
“Sumimasen, otearai wa doko desu ka?” (すみません、お手洗いはどこですか？) is the Japanese expression for “Excuse me, where is the bathroom?” or “Excuse me, where is the toilet?“. The first word sumimasen (すみません) means “Excuse me” and is often used before asking a question or asking for help in Japanese.
Sumimasen, otearai wa doko desu ka?
すみません、お手洗いはどこですか？
Excuse me, where is the bathroom?
Excuse me, where is the restroom?
Of course, you can also use any of the other Japanese words for toilet we have learned so far:
Sumimasen, toire wa doko desu ka?
すみません、トイレはどこですか？
Excuse me, where is the toilet?
Excuse me, where is the restroom?