How do you say "horse" in Japanese?

馬

uma

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "horse" is 馬 (uma).

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Pronunciation

馬 is written using kanji. Romanised as uma, it sounds roughly like "oo-mah" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Uma is one of the most fundamental animal kanji, used in dozens of compounds related to horses and travel. It is among the oldest characters.

Example sentence

あの馬はとても可愛いです。

Ano Uma wa totemo kawaii desu.

That horse is very cute.

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How to remember 馬

The kanji 馬 has the horse radical at left and looks like a four-legged animal standing profile. Horse racing, horse strength, all use this character.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more farm words.

Questions about 馬

How do you pronounce 馬?

馬 is romanised as uma. Say it roughly like "oo-mah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 馬 formal or casual?

馬 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 馬 written in Japanese?

馬 is written using kanji. Uma is one of the most fundamental animal kanji, used in dozens of compounds related to horses and travel.

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.

"Horse" in other languages

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