How do you say "martial arts" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "martial arts" is 武道 (budō). It is a noun pronounced "boo-doh".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of martial arts from Noun Town

Pronunciation

武道 is written in kanji. Romanised as budō, it sounds roughly like "boo-doh" to an English ear.

Example sentence

武道はどこにありますか?

Budō wa doko ni arimasu ka?

Where is the martial arts?

Usage notes

Budō (武道) is the Japanese word for martial arts. This noun appears in everyday contexts across homes, offices, schools, and public spaces.

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Questions about 武道

How do you pronounce 武道?

武道 is romanised as budō. Say it roughly like "boo-doh" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 武道 formal or casual?

武道 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 武道 written in Japanese?

武道 is written using kanji. 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.