1.
notice; written notification; notification letter
A formal document issued by a government agency, company, school, or other organization to inform the recipient of an official decision, status, or required action — tax assessments, examination results, insurance enrollments, court summonses, and the like. The paper is the physical letter itself; the content (the act of informing) is 通知.
Compound of 通知 ('notification; informing') and 書 ('document; written paper'). The suffix 書 productively forms names of formal documents: 申請書 ('application form'), 証明書 ('certificate'), 報告書 ('report').
Usage
- Almost always used for official or semi-official documents. Personal letters informing someone of news would be a 手紙 or メール, not a 通知書.
- Very common in fixed compounds specifying the type of notice: 合格通知書 ('acceptance notice'), 不合格通知書 ('rejection notice'), 納税通知書 ('tax payment notice'), 当選通知書 ('notice of winning/selection').
- Often paired with verbs like 届く ('arrives'), 受け取る ('receive'), 送付する ('send'), 発行する ('issue').
Common collocations
- 通知書が届く: a notice arrives
- 通知書を受け取る: to receive a notice
- 通知書を発送する: to send out a notice
- 合格通知書: acceptance notice
- 納税通知書: tax notice
- 当選通知書: notice of winning/selection
Similar words
- 通知: notification — the act or content of informing; also used more loosely for push notifications on a smartphone.
- 案内状: invitation; announcement letter — typically for events, more social than administrative in tone.
- お知らせ: notice; announcement — the everyday, softer native-Japanese word; not limited to formal documents.
- 告知書: formal notification (often of a legal or medical decision) — more weighty and formal than 通知書, especially in legal contexts.