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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "write" in Japanese?
書く
kaku
In Japanese, "write" is 書く (kaku).
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Pronunciation
Kaku is two crisp syllables, ka and ku, said quickly with a firm k sound bookending both halves of the word.
Writing and usage
書く 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
彼は友人に手紙を書く。
kareha yuujin ni tegami wo kaku.
He writes a letter to his friend.
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How to remember 書く
Kaku sounds like the scratch of a pen, ka-ku, ka-ku, moving steadily across paper as you write.
Related words
- run 走る hashiru
- walk 歩く aruku
- jump ジャンプする janpu suru
- climb 登る noboru
- crawl 這う hau
- swim 泳ぐ oyogu
- fall 落ちる ochiru
- eat 食べる tabe ru
- chew 噛む kamu
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 書く
How do you pronounce 書く?
Kaku is two crisp syllables, ka and ku, said quickly with a firm k sound bookending both halves of the word.
Is 書く formal or casual?
書く 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 書く written in Japanese?
書く is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as kaku.
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.
"Write" 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.
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