How do you say "borrow" in Japanese?

借りる

kari ru

Verb Kanji

In Japanese, "borrow" is 借りる (kari ru).

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Pronunciation

Two syllables, kari and ru run together as kariru, stress falls evenly with a light flap on the 'r' sound, closer to a soft 'd' than an English r.

Writing and usage

借りる is written using kanji. It's a verb, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

ペンを借りてもいいですか?

pen wo kari temoiidesuka?

May I borrow your pen?

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How to remember 借りる

You 'carry' something off when you borrow it — kariru sounds like 'carry-loo', carrying it away for a while.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 借りる

How do you pronounce 借りる?

Two syllables, kari and ru run together as kariru, stress falls evenly with a light flap on the 'r' sound, closer to a soft 'd' than an English r.

Is 借りる formal or casual?

借りる is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 借りる written in Japanese?

借りる is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as kari ru.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Borrow" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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