Translation guide
A paper lantern is a portable lighting device made of paper and a frame, often used in festivals, traditional settings, or as decoration. In Japanese, the most common word is 提灯 (chōchin), but other terms exist for specific types.
The most common, everyday word for a paper lantern, especially the collapsible kind used in festivals, restaurants, and traditional settings.
The standard word for a paper lantern. It typically refers to a collapsible lantern with a bamboo frame and paper covering, often with a candle or light bulb inside. Used in festivals, outside shops, and as decoration.
祭りにはたくさんの提灯が飾られていた。
Many paper lanterns were displayed at the festival.
居酒屋の入り口に赤い提灯がぶら下がっている。
A red paper lantern is hanging at the entrance of the izakaya.
Refers to a more solid, often stationary lantern made of paper, wood, or stone. While 提灯 is collapsible, 灯籠 is typically a fixed structure. Often used in gardens, temples, and as stone lanterns. The paper variety is sometimes called 紙灯籠 (かみとうろう).
庭に石灯籠がある。
There is a stone lantern in the garden.
お盆には紙灯籠を流す。
During Obon, we float paper lanterns.
A round, often red paper lantern, commonly seen at festivals or as a symbol of Japan.
Literally 'round paper lantern'. Used when you want to emphasize the spherical shape, as opposed to cylindrical or other shapes.
店先に大きな丸提灯が飾ってある。
A large round paper lantern is displayed in front of the shop.
Literally 'red paper lantern'. Often used to refer to the iconic red lanterns outside cheap drinking establishments (izakaya). It can also mean the bar itself.
赤提灯で一杯やろう。
Let's grab a drink at a red lantern bar.
A paper lantern set adrift on water, often during Obon or memorial services.
The ceremony of floating paper lanterns down a river to guide the spirits of the dead. The lanterns themselves are often called 灯籠 (とうろう) or 精霊流し (しょうろうながし) in this context.
灯籠流しはお盆の風物詩です。
Floating paper lanterns is a seasonal tradition of Obon.
Another term for the floating lantern ceremony, especially in Nagasaki. The lanterns are called 精霊舟 (しょうろうぶね) or simply 灯籠.
精霊流しのために灯籠を作った。
We made paper lanterns for the spirit floating ceremony.
A small hot air balloon made of paper, also known as a sky lantern or Kongming lantern.
Literally 'sky lantern'. This is the most direct term for a flying paper lantern. Also called スカイランタン (sukai rantan) in modern contexts.
夜空にたくさんの天灯が上がった。
Many sky lanterns rose into the night sky.
Loanword from English 'sky lantern'. Commonly used in tourism and event contexts.
スカイランタン祭りに参加した。
I participated in a sky lantern festival.
提灯 (ちょうちん) is collapsible and portable, often hung or carried. 灯籠 (とうろう) is usually fixed, made of stone, wood, or paper, and often found in gardens or temples. For a paper lantern that floats on water, 灯籠 is more common. For a typical festival lantern, use 提灯.
提灯を手に持って歩く。
Walk carrying a paper lantern.
灯籠が庭を照らしている。
The lantern illuminates the garden.
赤提灯 (あかちょうちん) literally means 'red paper lantern', but it's also a metonym for a cheap, casual bar (often an izakaya). If you say '赤提灯に行く', it means going to such a bar, not just looking at a lantern.
通りには提灯がずらりと並んでいた。
The street was lined with paper lanterns.
祭りのために提灯を作った。
We made paper lanterns for the festival.
彼らは夜空に天灯を放った。
They released sky lanterns into the night.