ピアノ

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 小さい頃からピアノを習っています。▶ —
   I've been learning piano since I was little.
2. 彼女のピアノ演奏は素晴らしい。▶ —
   Her piano performance is wonderful.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Piano (ピアノ) is the katakana loan from Italian / English "piano" — originally pianoforte ("soft-loud" in Italian, abbreviated). Invented in 18th-century Italy, spread worldwide in the 19th century. Japan adopted it with the Meiji-era introduction of Western music (yougaku). Verb collocation: piano wo hiku (play piano — hiku means "pluck / pull," used for string and keyboard instruments). Other instruments: gitaa wo hiku (guitar), baiorin wo hiku (violin), doramu wo tataku (drums, "strike"), furuuto wo fuku (flute, "blow"), uta wo utau (sing, cognate-object). Socially, piano belongs to the o-keiko-goto cluster (regular cultural / artistic lessons for children), alongside sadou (tea), ikebana (flower arrangement), shodou (calligraphy) — a marker of middle-class Japanese upbringing. Industry: Yamaha and Kawai are the two global Japanese piano brands — top market share worldwide (a different segment from European premium Steinway / Bösendorfer).

Quick check

1. Verb for "play the piano" in Japanese?

   • "Piano wo hiku" — hiku (pluck / pull)
   • "Piano wo tataku" — strike (awkward)
   • "Piano wo fuku" — blow (ungrammatical)
   • "Piano wo suru" — unnatural