Halloween is getting more and more popular in Japan every year. From pumpkin-flavoured snacks to huge costume parties in Tokyo, the spooky season is becoming a big event!
If you’re learning Japanese, it’s a great chance to pick up some fun seasonal words. In this post, we’ll go over how to say ‘Happy Halloween’ in Japanese, the names of common Halloween characters and monsters, and some extra vocabulary you might hear at Halloween parties or see in the shops.
How to say Happy Halloween in Japanese
If you want to wish someone a happy Halloween in Japanese, the phrase is simply borrowed from English: happii harowiin (ハッピーハロウィーン).
You’ll hear this greeting at Halloween parties, see it written on decorations, and find it splashed across ads in the shops.
It’s not a traditional Japanese phrase, but rather an English import written in katakana (the writing system used for foreign words), since Halloween is an imported holiday with no history in Japan!
So, if you’re in Japan around October, feel free to say happii harowiin! to join in the spooky fun.
Halloween characters and monsters in Japanese
No Halloween would be complete without its spooky cast of characters!
In Japan, many of the familiar Halloween monsters are borrowed directly from English and are written in katakana. At the same time, Japan also has its own traditional spooky creatures from folklore, like youkai and oni.
Here are some of the most common Halloween characters and how to say them in Japanese:
- obake (お化け) – ghost
- youkai (妖怪 / ようかい) – supernatural creature/Japanese spirit
- dorakyura (ドラキュラ) – Dracula/vampire
- miira (ミイラ) – mummy
- wea-urufu (ウェアウルフ)- werewolf
- zonbi (ゾンビ) – zombie
- majo (魔女 / まじょ) – witch
- koumori (こうもり) – bat
- kuroneko (黒猫 / くろねこ) – black cat
- gaikotsu (骸骨 / がいこつ) – skeleton
- kaibutsu (怪物 / かいぶつ) – monster
More Halloween vocabulary in Japanese
Alongside the spooky characters, there are lots of other Halloween words you might come across in Japan.
Many of these are borrowed straight from English and written in katakana, while others are everyday Japanese words with a seasonal twist.
Some useful terms include:
- torikku oa toriito (トリック・オア・トリート) – trick or treat
- kabocha (かぼちゃ) – pumpkin
- jakku o rantan (ジャック・オ・ランタン) – jack-o’-lantern
- ame (飴 / あめ) – candy
- okashi (お菓子 / おかし) – sweets/snacks
- obake yashiki (お化け屋敷 / おばけやしき) – haunted house
With this vocabulary list, you’ll be ready to join in the spooky fun in Japanese, whether you’re greeting friends, admiring costumes, or just hunting for pumpkin-flavoured treats!
Do you know any more Halloween words in Japanese? Anything you want to know that we’ve missed?
Happy Halloween!
Related posts
- Does Japan Celebrate Halloween? Here’s What Really Happens
- Demon in Japanese: Oni, Akuma and More You Should Know!
- 20 Beautiful Japanese Seasonal Words for Autumn
JapanesePod101 is our top recommendation to learn Japanese online. We love the fun, current audio lessons and interactive online tools. Sign up for your free lifetime account and see for yourself!
📌 Pin this for later!
Rebecca is the founder of Team Japanese. She spent two years teaching English in Ehime, Japan. Now back in the UK, she spends her time blogging, self-studying Japanese and wrangling a very genki toddler.