How do you say "mule" in Japanese?

ラバ

raba

Noun Katakana

In Japanese, "mule" is ラバ (raba).

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Pronunciation

RAH-bah, two short syllables, the 'ba' pronounced like the start of 'bar'.

Writing and usage

ラバ is written using katakana. It's a noun, 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

ラバは重い袋を運んで道を上った。

raba ha omoi fukuro wo hakon de michi wo atsu ta.

The mule carried heavy bags up the trail.

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How to remember ラバ

A mule is stubborn, and raba sounds a bit like someone grumbling 'rah, bah' in protest.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about ラバ

How do you pronounce ラバ?

RAH-bah, two short syllables, the 'ba' pronounced like the start of 'bar'.

Is ラバ formal or casual?

ラバ 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 ラバ written in Japanese?

ラバ is written using katakana. Romanised, it reads as raba.

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.

"Mule" 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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