Japanese Words about Prison
20 prison words in Japanese with kanji, hiragana, romaji, and English. Click any Japanese cell to copy the word, or grab the whole list with Copy All.
| Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English | JLPT | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 罪 | つみ | tsumi | sin / crime | N3 | |
| 刑務所 | けいむしょ | keimusho | prison | N2 | |
| 犯罪 | はんざい | hanzai | crime | N2 | |
| 犯人 | はんにん | hannin | criminal | N2 | |
| 殺人 | さつじん | satsujin | murder | N2 | |
| 面会 | めんかい | menkai | visitation | N2 | |
| 獄吏 | ごくり | gokuri | jailer | N1 | |
| 犯罪記録 | はんざいきろく | hanzai kiroku | crime record | N1 | |
| 容疑者 | ようぎしゃ | yougisha | suspect | N1 | |
| 死刑 | しけい | shikei | death penalty | N1 | |
| 脱走 | だっそう | dassou | escape | N1 | |
| 人質 | ひとじち | hitojichi | hostage | N1 | |
| 逃亡者 | とうぼうしゃ | touboushia | runaway | N1 | |
| 看守 | かんしゅ | kanshu | guard | N1 | |
| 暴動 | ぼうどう | boudou | riot | N1 | |
| 独房 | どくぼう | dokubou | solitary cell | N1 | |
| 刑務所長 | けいむしょちょう | keimushochou | warden | N1 | |
| 監獄 | かんごく | kangoku | jail | N1 | |
| 懲役 | ちょうえき | choueki | imprisonment | N1 | |
| 釈放 | しゃくほう | shakuhou | release | N1 |
About this prison vocabulary list
Cell, guard, sentence, parole, inmate — corrections-system terms. This page covers the 20 most useful entries for daily conversation and JLPT preparation. Each row shows the full kanji form, the hiragana reading, the romaji pronunciation, and the English meaning so you can read the row out loud in whichever script you are most comfortable with. The JLPT tag column flags which level the word is officially tested at — most entries are N5 or N4.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many prison words are on this list?
This page lists 20 prison words in Japanese with kanji, hiragana, romaji, and English. Each row is everyday vocabulary you would meet in textbook study or normal conversation — no archaic or specialist terms.
What JLPT level are these prison words?
Most entries are JLPT N5 and N4 — the foundation vocabulary for the first 6–12 months of Japanese study. Each row that maps to a specific JLPT level shows a coloured pill. Words without a pill are common everyday terms outside the JLPT-tested set.
How do I copy this prison vocabulary list to Anki?
Click "Copy All" at the top of the table to copy the entire list as tab-separated values (kanji, hiragana, romaji, English). Open Anki, choose Import, paste the contents into a text file or directly into a new deck, and Anki will create one card per row. The same export works for Quizlet, Google Sheets, and Excel.
How should I memorise prison words quickly?
Read the whole list out loud once — kanji, hiragana, English. Cover the romaji column and test recall on the second pass. Build one short sentence per word ("私のprison は…") and the words stick within three repeated sessions. For spaced repetition, export the list to the linked Japanese Flashcards tool.
Can I print this prison vocabulary list?
Yes. Click the Print button at the top of the table for a print-friendly view, or use your browser's print menu directly. Each row stays on a single line and the table fits standard A4 / Letter pages in portrait mode without further formatting.
Build sentences with these words
Pair this prison vocabulary list with the free JLPT N1 course to learn the grammar patterns that put each word into a real sentence — particles, verb forms, and adjective conjugations included.
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