How do you say "study" in Japanese?

勉強する

benkyou suru

Verb Kanji

In Japanese, "study" is 勉強する (benkyou suru).

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Pronunciation

Ben-kyou-su-ru, four syllables with a long 'kyou' vowel held twice as long as a short one.

Writing and usage

勉強する 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

毎晩試験のために勉強しています。

maiban shiken notameni benkyou shiteimasu.

I study every evening for the exam.

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How to remember 勉強する

Benkyou sounds like 'ben cue' — imagine Ben cueing up his textbooks to study.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 勉強する

How do you pronounce 勉強する?

Ben-kyou-su-ru, four syllables with a long 'kyou' vowel held twice as long as a short one.

Is 勉強する formal or casual?

勉強する 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 勉強する written in Japanese?

勉強する is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as benkyou suru.

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.

"Study" in other languages

Curated by Jack 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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