Pokémon Types in Japanese
All 18 types with hiragana, katakana, kanji and romaji
In the Japanese games, types that are native Japanese words are written in hiragana (ほのお, みず), and types borrowed from English are written in katakana (ドラゴン, ゴースト). The kanji column shows how the native words are written in everyday Japanese.
| English | In the games | Kanji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | ノーマル nōmaru | ||
| Fire | ほのお honō | 炎 | flame |
| Water | みず mizu | 水 | water |
| Electric | でんき denki | 電気 | electricity |
| Grass | くさ kusa | 草 | grass |
| Ice | こおり kōri | 氷 | ice |
| Fighting | かくとう kakutō | 格闘 | hand-to-hand combat |
| Poison | どく doku | 毒 | poison |
| Ground | じめん jimen | 地面 | the ground |
| Flying | ひこう hikō | 飛行 | flight |
| Psychic | エスパー esupā | ESP, a psychic | |
| Bug | むし mushi | 虫 | insect |
| Rock | いわ iwa | 岩 | rock |
| Ghost | ゴースト gōsuto | ghost | |
| Dragon | ドラゴン doragon | dragon | |
| Dark | あく aku | 悪 | evil |
| Steel | はがね hagane | 鋼 | steel |
| Fairy | フェアリー fearī | fairy |
Two surprises: Psychic is エスパー (esupā, from ESP, someone with psychic powers), and Dark is あく (aku), which really means “evil”.