ガソリン
ガソリン
gasorin
= gasoline; petrol
Gasorin (ガソリン) is the Japanese loanword for gasoline or petrol — the fuel used in cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles. As one of Japan’s most heavily discussed commodity prices, gasorin is a constant presence in news, household budgeting, and everyday conversation.
Gasorin (ガソリン) means gasoline (American English) or petrol (British English) — the refined petroleum fuel used in internal combustion engines. A gas station in Japanese is gasorin stando (ガソリンスタンド, gasoline stand) — the term is still used even as self-service stations and EV charging stations have grown. Key phrases: gasorin wo ireru (ガソリンを入れる, to fill up with gas), gasorin ga kireta (ガソリンが切れた, ‘the gas ran out’ — ran out of fuel), gasorin no nedan (ガソリンの値段, the price of gas), and mantan ni suru (満タンにする, to fill it up full — mantan means ‘full tank’). The grade vocabulary: reegyuraa (レギュラー, regular unleaded) and hairoku (ハイオク, high-octane premium fuel). Diesel is keiyu (軽油) — not a loanword.
At Japanese gas stations, you’ll encounter the instruction mantan reegyuraa de onegaishimasu (満タンレギュラーでお願いします, ‘a full tank of regular, please’) — this is the standard phrase for a full fill-up of regular unleaded fuel. Self-service stations (serufusaabisuEkinSS) display per-liter pricing prominently. Note that Japan uses the metric system for fuel: liters, not gallons. The compound gasorin-dai (ガソリン代, gasoline cost/fuel expense) appears frequently in family budgeting discussions.
Everyday use
ガソリンが減ってきたから、スタンドで入れてこよう。
Gasorin ga hette kita kara, sutando de irete koyou.
The gas is getting low, so I’ll stop and fill up at a station.
Casual / Social Media
最近ガソリン代が高すぎてドライブに行けない泣
Saikin gasorin-dai ga taka sugite doraibu ni ikenai naku
Gas prices have been so high lately I can’t afford to go for a drive crying emoji
Formal / Cultural context
石油価格の上昇に伴い、全国のガソリン価格が過去最高水準に達した。
Sekiyu kakaku no joushou ni tomonai, zenkoku no gasorin kakaku ga kako saikou suijun ni tasshita.
Following the rise in oil prices, gasoline prices across Japan reached record highs.
Japan imports virtually all of its crude oil — the country has negligible domestic petroleum reserves — making gasorin prices highly sensitive to global oil markets, the yen-dollar exchange rate, and geopolitical events. When the yen weakens or global oil prices spike, Japanese gasorin prices rise quickly and significantly. This vulnerability has driven Japan’s consistent investment in fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrid technology (the Toyota Prius was introduced in Japan in 1997), and more recently electric vehicles.
The gasorin stando (gas station) has a distinctive character in Japan compared to Western counterparts. Many Japanese gas stations — particularly older ones and those outside major cities — offer full-service (furuSS): an attendant fills your tank, checks your tire pressure, wipes your windows, and directs you out of the forecourt. This service culture, even in the era of widespread self-service, persists in regions where full-service stations remain common. The phrase mantan kudasai (満タンください, ‘fill it up, please’) directed to a station attendant is one of the most practical driving vocabulary items in Japanese.
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