楽しい
tanoshii
/taꜜnoɕiː/
Definition
Feeling or causing joy and pleasure; fun or enjoyable.
Example
友達と過ごす時間はとても楽しい。
Show translation
The time I spend with friends is very fun.
Etymology
From classical Japanese 楽し (tanoshi), rooted in the kanji 楽 (raku/tano), meaning "music, ease, pleasure." The same kanji appears in 音楽 (ongaku, "music") and 気楽 (kiraku, "carefree"), all sharing the core sense of ease and delight.
Cultural note
In Japanese, 楽しい describes an emotion being felt in the moment ("it IS fun right now"), while 楽しむ (tanoshimu) is the verb meaning "to enjoy" something more actively or deliberately. Mixing them up is a very common learner error. Also note: Japanese い-adjectives like this one conjugate directly — 楽しかった (tanoshikatta) means "it was fun."