Have you ever wondered what vows at a Japanese wedding ceremony? What are the differences between Western and Japanese votes? This article will share the translation and study all the details of a Japanese wedding vow.
There are several ways to make wedding vows in Japanese; this article will look at wedding vows in the Western-style. In traditional Japanese marriage, the Japanese read their wishes and thanks, mostly universal or personal.
In Western weddings, in addition to the option for the couple to read their vows, it is common for the person conducting the ceremony to read them and then for the groom or bride to repeat them or confirm the vows by saying "Hai Chikaimasu" [はい誓います].
Did you know that vows are linked to the wedding anniversary? Read our article on Wedding Anniversary Lists every year by clicking here.
Table of Content
The traditional Japanese wedding vow
The vows below are usually read by the wedding ceremony officiant in the western style, where the groom repeats each spoken phrase. Then it is read again, where the bride repeats the phrases.
The only difference between the wedding vows of the groom and the bride is the word josei [女性] which means woman, where in the bride's vows it changes to dansei [男性] which means man.
- 私はこの女性と結婚し
- 夫婦となろうとしています。
- 私は健康な時も
- そうでない時も
- この人を愛し
- この人を敬い
- この人を慰め
- この人を助け
- 私の命の限り
- 固く節操を守ることを
- 誓います。
Watakushi wa kono josei [man] gets married
Fufu to narou to shite imasu
Watakushi wa kenkouna tokimo
Soudenai tokimo
Kono hito o aishi
Kono hito o uyamai
Kono hito o nagusame
Kono hito o tasuke
The limit of my life
Kataku sessou o mamoru koto o
I swear.
The second type of vow is read by the officiant and confirmed by the couple saying Hai Chikaimasu. One of the differences in this vow is the words for groom, which is shinrou [新郎] and bride, which is shinpu [新婦].
Japanese votes:
しんろう [しんぷ]、(お名前), あなたはこの女性と結婚し、夫婦[女性]となろうとしております。
あなたは、健康(けんこう) なときも、そうでないときも、この人を愛し、この人を敬(うやま)い、この人を慰(なぐさ)め、この人を助(たす)け、その命(いのち)の限(かぎ)りかたく節操(せっそう)を守ることを誓(ちか)いますか？
Votes in Romanized Japanese:
Shinro, (groom's nameYou will be married to this woman, becoming a couple.
Do you vow to cherish this person, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, to love and to honor, to comfort and to protect, until death do you part?
Just don't be a weirdo and marry an anime character like Akihiko did.
Studying Japanese Wedding Vows
Now that you have seen the votes in japanese written in romaji, let's look at the votes written in japanese with ideograms and study them sentence by sentence, similar to our articles on breaking down songs.
私はこの女性と結婚し
Watakushi wa kono josei [man] gets married
I married this woman
- 私 - Me;
- この - This;
- 女性 - Woman;
- 結婚し - Marriage;
夫婦となろうとしています。
Fufu to narou to shite imasu
We are becoming a couple
- 夫婦 - Couple, husband and wife;
- なろう - Become;
- なろうとして - Try to become;
私は健康な時も
Watakushi wa kenkouna tokimo
I, even in the time of health
- 健康 - health, healthy
- 時 - time
- も - also
そうでない時も
Soudenai tokimo
Even in time without her (health)
- そうでない - Not have
この人を愛し
Kono hito o aishi
I will love this person
- この - This
- 人 - Person
- 愛し - love
この人を敬い
Kono hito o uyamai
I will respect that person
- 敬い - respect, honor, esteem
この人を慰め
Kono hito o nagusame
I will comfort that person
- 慰め - comfort, console
この人を助け
Kono hito o tasuke
I will help this person
- 助け - help, assist, support, give aid, reinforce, provide assistance
私の命の限り
The limit of my life
during my life
- 命 - life
- 限り- limit, as far as possible, to the maximum, unless, so far as only
固く節操を守ることを
I will protect my family
protect fidelity
- 固く - firm
- 節操 - constancy; integrity; fidelity; principle, honor
- 守る - protect
誓います。
I swear.
promise/interest
- 誓います - I promise, I swear!
These were the Japanese vows of a Western wedding. Did you find it a little different from Portuguese? I hope you enjoyed the article, if you liked it share and leave your comments.