How do you say "lift" in Japanese?

持ち上げる

mochi age ru

Verb Kanji

In Japanese, "lift" is 持ち上げる (mochi age ru).

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Pronunciation

A longer word, mo-chi-a-ge-ru, five syllables blending smoothly, with 'age' pronounced 'ah-geh' not like the English word 'age'.

Writing and usage

持ち上げる 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

自分で箱を持ち上げられる。

jibun de hako wo mochi age rareru.

She can lift the box on her own.

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How to remember 持ち上げる

Mochiageru contains 'mochi' — picture lifting a giant sticky mochi rice cake off the ground with both arms.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 持ち上げる

How do you pronounce 持ち上げる?

A longer word, mo-chi-a-ge-ru, five syllables blending smoothly, with 'age' pronounced 'ah-geh' not like the English word 'age'.

Is 持ち上げる formal or casual?

持ち上げる 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 持ち上げる written in Japanese?

持ち上げる is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as mochi age 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.

"Lift" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

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