Special Verbs in Japanese (like 着る, はく) | Vocab & Sentence Examples

Special Verbs in Japanese | Uses & Sentence Examples

Today we are going to learn about some special verbs in Japanese.

But why are they special?

These Japanese verbs are more specific when describing actions than English verbs. While learning Japanese, you will come across many verbs that may not have specific translations in English.

There are nouns that can be used with specific verbs only. Thus, making them special.

There might be several different verbs for the same action in Japanese, even though there is only one verb used for similar actions in English.

One of the examples is the verb “to wear.”

In English we say, “I wear a shirt,” “I wear a hat,” “I wear glasses” and so on.

However, Japanese has different verbs depending on which part of the body it will be worn on.

Sounds difficult? Don’t worry, it becomes easy once you start practicing!

Now, let’s take a look at these special Japanese verbs.

Japanese Special Verbs | Verbs Related to “To Wear”
Japanese Special Verbs | Verbs Related to “To Play”
Japanese Special Verbs | FAQ’s

Japanese Special Verbs | Verbs Related to “To Wear”

“Kiru” is used for putting clothes on the upper body. So, these will include shirts, jackets and so on.

Example	Hiragana	Romaji	English
シャツを着る	シャツをきる	Shatsu o kiru.	I wear a shirt.
上着を着る	うわぎをきる	Uwagi o kiru.	I wear a coat.

“Haku” is used for putting clothes on the legs as well as for putting on footwear. So, these pairs will include pants, socks and so on.

Example	Hiragana	Romaji	English
ズボンをはく	—	Zubon o haku.	I wear pants.
靴を履く	くつをはく	Kutsu o haku.	I wear shoes.

“Kaburu” is used for putting things on the head. This is what you will use as a verb for wearing a hat.

Example	Hiragana	Romaji	English
帽子をかぶる	ぼうしをかぶる	Bōshi o kaburu.	I wear a hat.

“Kakeru” also means “to hang.” It could be used to mean that you hang something.

Example	Romaji	English
めがねをかける	Megane o kakeru.	I wear glasses.
コートをかける。	Kōto o kakeru.	I hang the coat.

“Suru” has various usages. It can be used as “to wear” and can also be used for most sports.

Example	Hiragana	Romaji	English
時計をする	とけいをする	Tokei o suru.	I wear a watch.
トランプをする	—	Toranpu o suru.	I play cards.
野球をする	やきゅうをする	Yakyuu o suru.	I play baseball.

“Tsukeru” also means “to attach” or “to put on.”

Example	Romaji	English
イヤリングをつける	Iyaringu o tsukeru.	I wear earrings.
シートベルトをつける	Shiito beruto o tsukeru.	I put on a seat belt.

“Shimeru” also means “to tie.” So these verb and noun pairs will include a tie, shoe lace and so on.

Example	Hiragana	Romaji	English
ネクタイを締める	ネクタイをしめる	Nekutai o shimeru.	I wear a tie.
靴のひもを締める	くつのひもをしめる	Kutsu no himo o shimeru.	I tie my shoe laces.

“Maku” can mean “to wrap around.” It could be used for scarves or bandages.

Example	Hiragana	Romaji	English
スカーフを巻く	スカーフをまく	Sukaafu o maku.	I wear a scarf.
包帯をまく。	ほうたいをまく。	Houtai o maku.	To put on bandages.

“Hameru” can mean “to insert.”

Example	Hiragana	Romaji	English
手袋をはめる	てぶくろをはめる	Tebukuro o hameru.	I wear gloves.
指輪をはめる	ゆびわをはめる｡	Yubiwa o hameru.	I wear rings.

Japanese Special Verbs | Verbs Related to “To Play”

“Asobu” originally means “to amuse oneself.”

Example	Hiragana	Romaji	English
おもちゃで遊ぶ	おもちゃであそぶ	Omocha de asobu.	I play with toys.

“Hiku” is used to play the musical instrument that requires the manipulation of fingers, that is, for stringed or keyboard instruments.

Example	Hiragana	Romaji	English
ピアノを弾く	ピアノをひく	Piano o hiku.	I play the piano.
ギターを弾く	ギターをひく	Gitaa o hiku.	I play the guitar.

“Fuku” means “to blow,” and is used to play a musical instrument that requires blowing air.

Example	Hiragana	Romaji	English
笛を吹く	ふえをふく	Fue o fuku.	I play the flute.
トランペットを吹く	トランペットをふく	Toranpetto o fuku.	I play the trumpet.

“Tataku” means “to hit,” and is used to play musical instruments that require beating or tapping, such as drums.

Example	Hiragana	Romaji	English
太鼓をたたく	たいこをたたく	Taiko o tataku.	I play the drums.
ドラムをたたく	—	Doramu o tataku.	I play the drums.

Note that drums in Japanese can be spoken and written in either Kanji or Katakana.

“Enjiru” is used to play or perform a character in an act.

Example	Hiragana	Romaji	English
ロミオを演じる｡	ロミオをえんじる｡	Romio o enjiru.	I play the role of Romeo.
重要な役を演じる。	じゅうようなやくをえんじる。	Jyuuyouna yaku o enjiru.	I play an important role.

What we have learned today in this lesson are special pairs of nouns and verbs in Japanese. You’ll have to memorize these pairs to use them correctly, as there is a strong possibility of getting confused and making a mistake.

Even though they’re a bit tricky, 頑張ってね (がんばってね)!

You now know how to talk about special verbs in Japanese!

If you are just starting on your Japanese learning journey, make sure to check out the following lessons:

Introduction to hiragana
Introduction to katakana
Japanese numbers
Dates in Japanese
Japanese sentence structure
Japanese negative form
Japanese plain form

Don’t forget that we also offer a 7 Day Free Trial for our Japanese classes on our online platform Flexi Classes!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What are Japanese special verbs?

There are nouns that can be used with specific verbs only. Thus, making them special.

There might be several different verbs for same action in Japanese, even though there is only one verb used for similar actions in English.

How many different ways to say “to wear” are there in Japanese?

In this article we cover nine ways to say “to wear” in Japanese: きる、はく、かぶる、かける、まく、しめる、する、つける、and はめる。

Why does Japanese have so many different verbs to express one idea in English?

It’s a quirk of language; Japanese is simply more specific about, for example, expressing “to wear a hat” vs. “to wear a coat” vs. “to wear shoes” than English is.

How many different ways to say “to play” are there in Japanese?

In this article we cover five ways to say “to play” in Japanese: あそぶ、ひく、ふく、たたく、and えんじる。