Translation guide
The English word 'fruit' refers to the edible reproductive body of a seed plant, especially one having a sweet pulp. In Japanese, the most common equivalent is 果物 (くだもの), but there are also other words and expressions depending on context, such as botanical terms, metaphorical uses, and set phrases.
Referring to fruit as food, such as apples, oranges, bananas, etc.
The standard, everyday word for fruit as food. Used in shopping, cooking, and daily conversation.
果物を食べるのは健康にいいです。
Eating fruit is good for your health.
この店では新鮮な果物を売っています。
This store sells fresh fruit.
Loanword from English, often used in names of desserts, drinks, or fashionable contexts. Slightly more modern or commercial feel.
フルーツパフェが食べたい。
I want to eat a fruit parfait.
Referring to the seed-bearing structure in plants, which may include things not typically called fruit in everyday English.
Botanical or formal term for fruit. Used in scientific contexts, or when distinguishing fruit from other plant parts.
トマトは果実ですが、野菜として扱われます。
Tomatoes are fruits, but they are treated as vegetables.
Using 'fruit' to mean the result of effort or labor, as in 'the fruits of one's labor'.
Means 'result' or 'achievement'. Often used in the phrase 'fruits of one's labor'.
努力の成果が実った。
The fruits of my efforts have borne fruit.
Idiomatic phrase meaning 'to bear fruit' (literal or figurative).
Referring to fruit as a food group, often in health or dietary contexts.
Same as general edible fruit, but used in dietary contexts.
毎日果物を食べるようにしています。
I try to eat fruit every day.
While フルーツ is common in compound words and menus, 果物 is the more natural choice in everyday conversation about eating fruit.
彼の研究はついに実を結んだ。
His research finally bore fruit.