The Meaning of genryō [原料] In Japanese

原料
げんりょう
Romaji: genryō N4

What does 原料 mean?

Translation and Meaning

raw material, raw materials, feedstock

Definition

What does 原料 mean? It refers to the basic substances used to produce goods, typically as inputs that are transformed during manufacturing rather than finished products.

Type

noun (名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • The basic inputs or feedstock employed in industrial or chemical processes.
  • Ingredients or components required to create a product, not yet finished goods.
  • A figurative sense for the starting point or foundation of an idea, project, or system.

Etymology

Borrowed into Japanese from Chinese yuánliào; the on’yomi reading is genryō, reflecting Sino-Japanese phonology; the characters 原 and 料 convey origin/raw state and material respectively.

Composition

  • 原 = origin, raw state; basis
  • 料 = material, ingredients; fee
  • Combined to mean raw material: the origin of a substance that becomes the material fed into a production process

Usage

原料は製造・加工の現場で不可欠な語で、正式な文書や技術文献で頻繁に用いられる。日常語では素材や材料と近い意味だが、産業・購買・品質管理の文脈に特化して使われることが多い。原料を扱う場面では、供給、品質、価格といった要素が議論されることが多い。原料を扱う文章例には、原料の品質管理、在庫管理、調達、コスト、供給安定性が含まれる。
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: origin (原) plus material (料) equals the starting stock you feed into production; remember it as the ‘origin stock’.

Variations

  • 素材 (sozai) — materials used in creation, romaji (sozai)
  • 原材料 (genzairyō) — raw materials (formal/plural), romaji (genzairyō)
  • 原料費 (genryohi) — cost of raw materials, romaji (genryohi)

Example Phrases

  • スーパーで原料を買うときは賞味期限を確認する
    Sūpā de genryō o kau toki wa shōmi kigen o kakunin suru.
    When buying raw materials at the supermarket, check the expiration date.
    Lista:
    • スーパー (Sūpā) – supermarket
    • で (de) – at
    • 原料 (genryō) – raw materials
    • を (o) – object marker
    • 買うとき (kau toki) – when buying
    • は (wa) – topic marker
    • 賞味期限 (shōmi kigen) – expiration date
    • を (o) – object marker
    • 確認する (kakunin suru) – to check
    In this sentence, 「原料」 means ‘raw materials/ingredients’ and is the object of 買う. 「賞味期限」 refers to the expiration date.
原料