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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner

How do you say "to play (a sport)" in Japanese?

やる

yaru

Verb Hiragana

In Japanese, "to play (a sport)" is やる (yaru).

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Pronunciation

やる is written using hiragana. Romanised as yaru, it sounds roughly like "yah-roo" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Written in hiragana やる, this versatile native verb means to do or play. It is casual and common in everyday speech.

Example sentence

彼女は公園でやります。

Kanojo wa kouen de yarimasu.

She to play (a sport)s in the park.

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How to remember やる

Say 'ya-ru' and think of doing or playing actively. A simple sound for a simple, direct action.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more Japanese verbs.

Questions about やる

How do you pronounce やる?

やる is romanised as yaru. Say it roughly like "yah-roo" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is やる formal or casual?

やる 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 やる written in Japanese?

やる is written using hiragana. Written in hiragana やる, this versatile native verb means to do or play.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

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"To play (a sport)" in other languages

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