How do you say "to blossom" in Japanese?

咲く

saku

Verb Kanji

In Japanese, "to blossom" is 咲く (saku).

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Pronunciation

咲く is written using kanji. Romanised as saku, it sounds roughly like "sah-koo" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

The kanji 咲 uses the mouth radical with a phonetic suggesting opening or expressing. Primarily used for flowers opening and blooming.

Example sentence

私は毎日咲きます。

Watashi wa mainichi sakimasu.

I to blossom every day.

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How to remember 咲く

Flowers opening their mouths to face the sun. The mouth radical symbolizes opening up in bloom.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more Japanese verbs.

Questions about 咲く

How do you pronounce 咲く?

咲く is romanised as saku. Say it roughly like "sah-koo" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 咲く formal or casual?

咲く 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 咲く written in Japanese?

咲く is written using kanji. The kanji 咲 uses the mouth radical with a phonetic suggesting opening or expressing.

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.

"To blossom" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

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