How do you say "walk" in Japanese?

歩く

aruku

Verb Kanji

In Japanese, "walk" is 歩く (aruku).

Listen to the pronunciation:

Free Japanese learning game. No sign-up, play in browser. See all games

Pronunciation

Aruku is three light syllables, a-ru-ku, said at a steady, unhurried pace that matches the slow action of walking itself.

Writing and usage

歩く is written using kanji. It's a verb, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

一緒に学校まで歩いて行きます。

isshoni gakkou made arui te iki masu.

We walk to school together.

Test your Japanese knowledge in our free browser games.

How to remember 歩く

Aruku sounds like 'ah, rookoo', a made-up little rhythm you could hum to match the steady beat of your footsteps.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 歩く

How do you pronounce 歩く?

Aruku is three light syllables, a-ru-ku, said at a steady, unhurried pace that matches the slow action of walking itself.

Is 歩く formal or casual?

歩く 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 歩く written in Japanese?

歩く is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as aruku.

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.

"Walk" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

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. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

Noun Town language-learning game on PC, Mac and VR

The full experience

Noun Town on PC, Mac & VR

These browser games are just a taste. The full Noun Town is a bigger, deeper 3D world: explore a living town, talk to its characters and learn thousands of words in immersive VR, Mixed Reality, or on your computer. It's an award-winning game with 590+ reviews on Steam and 12 languages to learn.

See the full game ▶

Spot an error? Email us at contact@noun.town