じゃがいも（じゃがいも、jagaimo）
- potato

じゃがいも is the Japanese word for "potato." It refers to the edible starchy tuber of the plant *Solanum tuberosum*. This word encompasses both the raw vegetable and the cooked dish made from it. Potatoes are a very common and versatile ingredient in Japanese cuisine.

⚫︎カレーにじゃがいもを入れます。 Translation: I put potatoes in the curry. ⚫︎じゃがいもを茹でて、サラダを作りました。 Translation: I boiled potatoes and made a salad. ⚫︎ポテトチップスはじゃがいもから作られています。 Translation: Potato chips are made from potatoes.

You can use じゃがいも in any context where you would refer to a potato. It's perfectly acceptable in everyday conversation, in recipes, when shopping, or when talking about food. You can use it to describe the raw vegetable, or a dish that includes potatoes.

じゃがいも is typically written in hiragana. While the kanji (馬鈴薯) exist for potato, they are rarely used in everyday writing, and are considered more formal. It’s almost always written as じゃがいも in casual conversation, recipes, and most written materials. There are no variations in okurigana.

There aren't many direct synonyms, as じゃがいも is the standard term. However, you might use: ⚫︎ ポテト (poteto) - This is the katakana word for "potato," borrowed from English, and is commonly used. ⚫︎ 馬鈴薯 (ばれいしょ - bareisho) - The formal kanji word for potato.

While there are no direct antonyms for potato itself, you could use words for other vegetables. ⚫︎ 野菜 (yasai) - vegetables

スーパーでじゃがいもを買いました。 ・Translation: I bought potatoes at the supermarket. ・Explanation: This sentence describes a common everyday action: buying potatoes.

このじゃがいもはすごく大きいですね！ ・Translation: This potato is very big! ・Explanation: This sentence expresses an observation about the size of a specific potato.

The word じゃがいも is a little bit of a mystery, but the prevailing theory is that it comes from the Indonesian word "Jogjakarta," as potatoes were introduced to Japan from this region. The "ja" sound was combined with "gai" (from "gaijin," meaning foreigner) and "imo" (meaning potato or tuber).