お墓(はか)

おはか

noun

grave; tomb; burial site

1. grave; tomb; burial site

A burial site where the remains of the deceased are interred, typically a family grave with a stone marker located in temple grounds or a cemetery. Visiting and maintaining graves is an important Japanese cultural practice.

お墓(はか)に花(はな)を供(そな)えた。

I placed flowers at the grave.

お盆(ぼん)にお墓(はか)参(まい)りに行(い)く。

I visit the grave during Obon.

祖父母(そふぼ)のお墓(はか)は田舎(いなか)の寺(てら)の境内(けいだい)にあり、毎年(まいとし)家族(かぞく)で掃除(そうじ)に行(い)っている。

My grandparents' grave is in the grounds of a temple in the countryside, and every year our family goes to clean it.

The polite form of 墓(はか) (grave), with the honorific prefix お. In everyday speech, お墓(はか) is the standard form — using 墓(はか) without お can sound blunt or overly direct.

Usage

Japanese graves are typically family graves (家族(かぞく)墓(ぼ)) located in temple or cemetery grounds
Visiting and maintaining the grave is an important cultural practice, especially during お盆(ぼん) (mid-August) and お彼岸(ひがん) (equinox periods)
The act of visiting a grave is called お墓(はか)参(まい)り
In modern Japan, discussions about graves also include alternative burial styles like 納骨堂(のうこつどう) (columbariums) and 樹木葬(じゅもくそう) (tree burial)

Common collocations

お墓(はか)参(まい)り: visiting a grave
お墓(はか)を建(た)てる: to build/erect a grave
お墓(はか)を掃除(そうじ)する: to clean a grave
お墓(はか)に入(はい)る: to be buried (lit. to enter the grave)
お墓(はか)の前(まえ)で手(て)を合(あ)わせる: to put one's hands together in prayer before the grave

Similar words

墓地(ぼち): cemetery, graveyard — the area where graves are located
墓石(ぼせき): gravestone, tombstone — the stone marker itself
霊園(れいえん): memorial park, cemetery — a more modern, park-like cemetery

Related Words

Compare: 墓地(ぼち) (cemetery, graveyard)

Compare: 墓石(ぼせき) (gravestone, tombstone)

Compare: 霊園(れいえん) (memorial park, cemetery)

general

Added 2026.4.3 7:20 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

21500/21734_ohaka