How do you say "exercise" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "exercise" is 運動する (undō suru). It is a verb pronounced "oo-n-doh soo-roo".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

運動する is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as undō suru, it sounds roughly like "oo-n-doh soo-roo" to an English ear.

Example sentence

彼は上手に運動します。

Kare wa jouzu ni undō shimasu.

He to exercises well.

Usage notes

運動する means to exercise in Japanese. This is an everyday verb that learners encounter early. Mastering its masu form (運動します) and te-form opens up many sentence patterns.

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Questions about 運動する

How do you pronounce 運動する?

運動する is romanised as undō suru. Say it roughly like "oo-n-doh soo-roo" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 運動する formal or casual?

運動する is the plain (dictionary) form, used in casual speech and in dictionaries. For polite situations, verbs take a different ending, typically -masu. In Noun Town the game always shows the dictionary form.

How is 運動する written in Japanese?

運動する is written using kanji and hiragana. 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.