How do you say "to sing" in Japanese?

歌う

utau

Verb Kanji

In Japanese, "to sing" is 歌う (utau).

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Pronunciation

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

Writing and usage

The kanji 歌 combines a musical concept with phonetic elements, meaning song or singing. Used in entertainment and performance vocabulary.

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.

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How to remember 歌う

A mouth singing out. Picture someone opening their mouth wide to belt out a song or melody.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more Japanese verbs.

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 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 歌う written in Japanese?

歌う is written using kanji. The kanji 歌 combines a musical concept with phonetic elements, meaning song or singing.

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 sing" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

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