カジュアル

• Reading: カジュアル
• Romaji: kajuaru
• Kanji breakdown: From English 'casual' → relaxed, informal clothing style
• Pronunciation: /ka.dʑɯ.a.ɾɯ/

Meaning

Casual, laid-back fashion style; everyday relaxed clothing.

カジュアル in Japanese fashion refers to a relaxed everyday style — jeans, T-shirts, sneakers, hoodies, and denim jackets. It is one of the core fashion categories in Japan and serves as the baseline style that other categories (きれいめ, ストリート系, モード系) are defined against. The term also appears in compounds like きれいめカジュアル (polished casual) and カジュアルダウン (dressing down a formal outfit with casual elements).

Examples

1. 今日はカジュアルでいいよね、居酒屋だし。 Casual's fine today, right? We're just going to an izakaya.
2. カジュアルすぎない程度にまとめたい。 I want to keep it together without going too casual.
3. カジュアルな服が一番落ち着くわ。 Casual clothes are the most comfortable for me.

Usage Guide

Context: fashion, daily life, invitations, dress codes

Tone: neutral, everyday

Do Say

• カジュアルな格好で来てね。 (Come in casual clothes.)
• カジュアルダウンするためにスニーカー合わせた。 (I paired sneakers to dress it down.)

Don't Say

• ドレスコードが「カジュアル」のときにジャージで行くのはNG (Showing up in a tracksuit when the dress code says 'casual' is not okay — Japanese カジュアル still has standards)

Common Mistakes

• Interpreting Japanese カジュアル as anything goes — even 'casual' in Japan tends to mean put-together casual, not sloppy

Origin & History

From English 'casual.' Adopted into Japanese fashion vocabulary as Western clothing became mainstream in the postwar era. Now one of the fundamental fashion style classifications.

Cultural Context

Era: Postwar adoption, fundamental category

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. Note that Japanese 'casual' tends to be more polished than Western casual — even relaxed Japanese outfits often look intentional.