How do you say "jump rope" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "jump rope" is 縄跳び (nawatobi). It is a noun pronounced "nah-wah-toh-bee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of jump rope from Noun Town

Pronunciation

縄跳び is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as nawatobi, it sounds roughly like "nah-wah-toh-bee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

その縄跳びはとても便利です。

Sono Nawatobi wa totemo benri desu.

That jump rope is very useful.

Usage notes

Nawatobi (縄跳び) is the Japanese word for jump rope. This noun appears in everyday contexts across homes, offices, schools, and public spaces.

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Questions about 縄跳び

How do you pronounce 縄跳び?

縄跳び is romanised as nawatobi. Say it roughly like "nah-wah-toh-bee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 縄跳び formal or casual?

縄跳び 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 縄跳び written in Japanese?

縄跳び is written using kanji and hiragana. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

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.