The wedding vows in Japanese

Have you ever wondered what the vows are in a wedding ceremony in Japanese? What are the differences between Western vows and those in Japan? In this article, we will share the translation and study all the details of a wedding vow in the Japanese language.

There are several ways to make wedding vows in Japanese; in this article, we will look at wedding vows in the Western style. In traditional Japanese weddings, the Japanese read their vows and thanks, which are often somewhat 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 the groom or bride repeats them or confirms the vows by saying “Hai Chikaimasu” [はい誓います].

Did you know that the vows are linked to wedding anniversaries? Read our article about Wedding Anniversary Lists for all years by clicking here.

The traditional wedding vow in Japanese

The vows below are usually read by the officiant in the Western style wedding, where the groom repeats each sentence said. Then it is read again, where the bride repeats the sentences.

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 [dansei] to kekkonshi
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
Watakushi no inochi no kagiri
Kataku sessou o mamoru koto o
Chikai masu.

The second type of vow is read by the officiant and confirmed by the bride and groom 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].

Vows in Japanese:

しんろう [しんぷ]、(your name), 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？

Vows in romanized Japanese:

Shinro, (groom’s name), anata wa kono jyosei to kekkonshi fuufu to naru to shite orimasu.
Anata wa, kenko na tokimo, soudenai tokimo, kono hito o aishi, kono hito o uyamai, kono hito o nagusame, kono hito o tasukete, sono inochi no kagiri kataku sessou o mamoru koto o chikaimasu ka?

Just don’t be a fool and marry an anime character like Akihiko did.

Studying the wedding vows in Japanese

Now that you have seen the vows in Japanese written in romaji, let’s look at the vows written in Japanese with ideograms and study them sentence by sentence, similar to our articles dissecting songs.

私はこの女性と結婚し
Watakushi wa kono josei [dansei] to kekkonshi

I married this woman

• 私 – I;
• この – This;
• 女性 – Woman;
• 結婚し – Marrying;

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 – To become;
• なろうとして – Trying to become;

私は健康な時も
Watakushi wa kenkouna tokimo 

I, even in times of health

• 健康 – health, healthy
• 時 – time
• も – also

そうでない時も
Soudenai tokimo 

Even in times without her (health)

• そうでない – Not having

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 this person

• 敬い – respect, honor, esteem

この人を慰め
Kono hito o nagusame 

I will comfort this 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, reinforce, provide assistance

私の命の限り
Watakushi no inochi no kagiri 

For the duration of my life

• 命 – life
• 限り- limit, as much as possible, to the maximum, unless, as long as only

固く節操を守ることを
ataku sessou o mamoru koto o 

To protect fidelity

• 固く – strongly, firmly
• 節操 – constancy; integrity; fidelity; principle, honor
• 守る – protect

誓います。
Chikai masu. 

• 誓います – I promise, I swear!

These were the Japanese vows of a Western wedding. Did you find it a bit different from Portuguese? I hope you enjoyed the article; if you did, please share and leave your comments.