登る
noboru
The Japanese verb for "climb" is 登る (noboru).
登る is used to describe upward movement, typically when climbing things with a clear vertical direction such as mountains, trees or stairs.
Meaning: to ascend, to go up (verb)
How do you pronounce it?
noboru
Did you know?
- While 登る is used for mountains, the verb 上る is used for climbing stairs. Although they are both pronounced 'noboru', the first refers to a physical conquest and the second to simple elevation.
- While 登る is for mountains, Japanese uses a different verb, 昇る, when the sun or the moon 'climbs' into the sky.
- Japanese uses 登る for climbing, but the related word for 'climb' in a sports gym context is often the loanword クライミング (kuraimingu).
Examples in context
- 塀に登るな。Don't climb up the wall.This sentence shows how to use 登る in a negative command regarding a wall.Tatoeba #83576 by arnab, translation #320140 by CK
- 壁に登るな。Don't climb on the wall.Tatoeba #8619699 by small_snow, translation #6034870 by AlanF_US
- 猿は木に登る。Monkeys climb trees.This sentence demonstrates the use of 登る when describing the actions of monkeys.Tatoeba #188723 by wat, translation #25868 by CK
- 山に登るClimb a mountain
- 階段を登るClimb the stairs
- 坂道を上るClimb a hill
- 木に登るClimb a tree
- ここは登りやすいIt's easy to climb here
- 33 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ren and Yui are planning a hiking trip.
- 蓮 Ren今度、一緒に山に登る？Kondo, issho ni yama ni noboru?Do you want to climb a mountain together next time?
- 結衣 Yuiいいですね！どこに登る？Ii desu ne! Doko ni noboru?That sounds great! Which one shall we climb?
- 蓮 Ren富士山に登りたいと思っているよ。Fujisan ni noboritai to omotte iru yo.I'm thinking I want to climb Mount Fuji.
- 結衣 Yuiそれは大変そうだけど楽しみ！Sore wa taihen sou dakedo tanoshimi!That sounds tough, but I'm looking forward to it!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 登る, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
