LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Lesson notes · Oct 4, 2026

Body in Japanese: 体からだ (からだ), 体調たいちょう, 体力たいりょく, 体重たいじゅう, and 体からだが硬かたい

"Body" in Japanese is 体からだ (からだ). It appears in many health words: 体調たいちょう (たいちょう) is how your body feels today, 体力たいりょく (たいりょく) is stamina, 体重たいじゅう (たいじゅう) is weight, and 体からだにいい means "good for you". The warm sign-off お体からだに気きをつけて means "please take care of yourself".

Talking about the body in Japanese is mostly talking about health: how you feel, what is good for you, whether you have the energy for a long day. These words come up in small talk, at the gym, in emails, and in every season when people remind each other to stay well. This post covers the core words and the phrases built on them.

How do you say "body" in Japanese?

What does 体からだ mean?

体からだ (からだ) is the body. It also means health in general.

体からだが疲つかれた。 — My body is tired. (casual) 野菜やさいは体からだにいい。 — Vegetables are good for you. (casual)

体からだにいい (good for you) and 体からだに悪わるい (bad for you) are very common.

What does 体調たいちょう mean?

体調たいちょう (たいちょう) is physical condition: how your body feels right now.

今日きょうは体調たいちょうがいい。 — I feel good today. (casual) 体調たいちょうが悪わるいので、休やすみます。 — I'm not feeling well, so I'll take the day off. (polite)

For more on being unwell, see how to say I'm sick.

What does お体からだに気きをつけて mean?

お体からだに気きをつけて, "be careful of your body", means "take care of yourself". It is a warm closing in letters and emails.

寒さむくなりますので、お体からだに気きをつけてください。 — It's getting cold, so please take care of yourself. (polite, email)

See take care in Japanese for similar phrases.

What other body words are there?

What does 体力たいりょく mean?

体力たいりょく (たいりょく) is stamina or physical strength.

最近さいきん、体力たいりょくが落おちた。 — My stamina has dropped lately. (casual)

What do 体重たいじゅう and 身長しんちょう mean?

体重たいじゅう (たいじゅう) is body weight, and 身長しんちょう (しんちょう) is height.

体重たいじゅうが少すこし増ふえた。 — I've put on a little weight. (casual)

体重たいじゅうを聞きくのは失礼しつれい, asking someone's weight is rude, as in most places.

What does 体からだを動うごかす mean?

体からだを動うごかす (からだをうごかす), "to move your body", means to get some exercise. For more, see exercise in Japanese.

週末しゅうまつは体からだを動うごかしたい。 — I want to get some exercise on the weekend. (casual)

Word Reading Meaning
体からだ からだ body
体からだにいい からだにいい good for you
体調たいちょう たいちょう physical condition
体力たいりょく たいりょく stamina
体重たいじゅう たいじゅう weight
身長しんちょう しんちょう height
体からだが硬かたい からだがかたい stiff, inflexible
体からだを動うごかす からだをうごかす to exercise

Beyond the basics

What does 体からだが硬かたい mean?

体からだが硬かたい (からだがかたい) means stiff or inflexible, like not being able to touch your toes. 体からだが柔やわらかい is flexible.

体からだが硬かたくて、つま先さきに手てが届とどかない。 — I'm so stiff I can't reach my toes. (casual)

What is 体育たいいく?

体育たいいく (たいいく) is physical education, PE class at school.

体育たいいくの授業じゅぎょうが好すきだった。 — I liked PE class. (casual)

What does 体からだを壊こわす mean?

体からだを壊こわす (からだをこわす), "to break your body", means to ruin your health, usually from overwork.

働はたらきすぎて体からだを壊こわした。 — I ruined my health from overwork. (casual)

Common mistakes

  • Reading 体調たいちょう as からだちょう. It is たいちょう.
  • Saying 体からだがいい for "I feel good". Say 体調たいちょうがいい.
  • Dropping が in writing. 体からだ硬かたい is fine in casual speech, but write 体からだが硬かたい.
  • Asking someone's 体重たいじゅう casually. It is considered rude.
  • Writing お体からだに気きをつけて to close a very casual chat. It is a warm, slightly formal sign-off.

Practice

Try each answer before opening it. Questions 3 and 4 are a pair: feeling well versus feeling unwell.

1. Say "Vegetables are good for you."

Show answer

野菜やさいは体からだにいい。 — 体からだにいい.

2. Say casually, "My body is tired."

Show answer

体からだが疲つかれた。 — 体からだ.

3. Say casually, "I feel good today."

Show answer

今日きょうは体調たいちょうがいい。 — 体調たいちょうがいい.

4. Tell your boss politely you're not feeling well and will take the day off.

Show answer

体調たいちょうが悪わるいので、休やすみます。 — 体調たいちょうが悪わるい. This is the pair to question 3.

5. End an email politely: "It's getting cold, so please take care of yourself."

Show answer

寒さむくなりますので、お体からだに気きをつけてください。 — お体からだに気きをつけて.

6. Say "My stamina has dropped lately."

Show answer

最近さいきん、体力たいりょくが落おちた。 — 体力たいりょく.

7. Say "I've put on a little weight."

Show answer

体重たいじゅうが少すこし増ふえた。 — 体重たいじゅう.

8. Say "I want to get some exercise on the weekend."

Show answer

週末しゅうまつは体からだを動うごかしたい。 — 体からだを動うごかす.

9. Say "I'm so stiff I can't reach my toes."

Show answer

体からだが硬かたくて、つま先さきに手てが届とどかない。 — 体からだが硬かたい.

10. Say "I ruined my health from overwork."

Show answer

働はたらきすぎて体からだを壊こわした。 — 体からだを壊こわす.

Small talk about 体調たいちょう and the email closing お体からだに気きをつけて are easy to practise in a trial lesson, starting with how you feel today.

FAQ

How do you say "body" in Japanese? 体からだ (からだ).

What does 体調たいちょう mean? Physical condition, how you feel today.

How do you say "good for you" (healthy)? 体からだにいい.

What does 体力たいりょく mean? Stamina.

What does お体からだに気きをつけて mean? "Take care of yourself".

How do you say "I'm stiff"? 体からだが硬かたい.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

体	からだ — body
体調	たいちょう — physical condition
体力	たいりょく — stamina
体重	たいじゅう — body weight
身長	しんちょう — height
体が硬い	からだがかたい — stiff
体を動かす	からだをうごかす — to exercise
体育	たいいく — PE
体を壊す	からだをこわす — to ruin one's health
つま先	つまさき — toes

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime. 体調たいちょう is a word I teach early because it unlocks so much daily small talk, and お体からだに気きをつけて is the email closing that makes messages to Japanese contacts feel warm. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or try the Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference dictionaries.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5 · Read something at this level: JLPT N5 stories with audio

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