Meaning

Primary

Bag

Alternatives

Handbag, Backpack

Word Type

noun

Explanation

If there’s a car ban (カバン), you’ll need a nice bag to carry all your stuff in. You can’t just throw it all in the car, so get yourself a nice bag instead.

カバン is used for bags that you can close and that have a fairly rigid structure, like handbags and backpacks, but not more flimsy bags that don't close, like plastic bags and paper bags.

This word can also be written in hiragana and kanji. All versions are pretty common, but you'll probably see it in katakana the most.

Pronunciation

カバン
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)
かばん
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • 大きいカバン

    a large bag

Context Sentences

あ、カバンがない!

Oh, I don't have my bag!

おかしいなぁ。カバンに入れたはずなのに。

That's funny. I thought I put them in my bag.

いっぱい入るよう、大きめのカバンにしたよ。

I opted for a larger bag that can hold a lot of stuff.