How do you say "crawl" in Japanese?

這う

hau

Verb Kanji

In Japanese, "crawl" is 這う (hau).

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Pronunciation

Hau is just two light sounds, ha and u, blended quickly together almost like a short exhale, ha-u.

Writing and usage

這う 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

赤ちゃんは床を這い始めた。

akachan ha toko wo hai hajime ta.

The baby began to crawl across the floor.

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How to remember 這う

Hau sounds like a tired 'how', the sigh a baby might make while crawling determinedly across the floor.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 這う

How do you pronounce 這う?

Hau is just two light sounds, ha and u, blended quickly together almost like a short exhale, ha-u.

Is 這う formal or casual?

這う 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 這う written in Japanese?

這う is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as hau.

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.

"Crawl" in other languages

Curated by Callan 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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