How do you say "push" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "push" is 押す (osu). It is a verb pronounced "oh-soo".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

押す is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as osu, it sounds roughly like "oh-soo" to an English ear.

Example sentence

子供たちは押しますのが楽しそうです。

Kodomotachi wa oshimasu no ga tanoshisou desu.

The children seem to enjoy pushing.

Usage notes

押す means to push in Japanese. This is an everyday verb that learners encounter early. Mastering its masu form (押します) and te-form opens up many sentence patterns.

Related words

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

Practice 押す and hundreds more Japanese words in the game.

Buy on Steam

Questions about 押す

How do you pronounce 押す?

押す is romanised as osu. Say it roughly like "oh-soo" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 押す formal or casual?

押す 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 押す written in Japanese?

押す 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.