How do you say "sing" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "sing" is 歌う (utau). It is a verb pronounced "oo-tah-oo".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

歌う is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as utau, it sounds roughly like "oo-tah-oo" to an English ear.

Example sentence

週末に歌いますつもりです。

Shuumatsu ni utaimasu tsumori desu.

I plan to to sing this weekend.

Usage notes

歌う means to sing in Japanese. This is an everyday verb that learners encounter early. Mastering its masu form (歌います) and te-form opens up many sentence patterns.

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Questions about 歌う

How do you pronounce 歌う?

歌う is romanised as utau. Say it roughly like "oo-tah-oo" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 歌う formal or casual?

歌う 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 歌う written in Japanese?

歌う 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.