散策する
sansaku suru
To hike in Japanese can be expressed as 散策する (sansaku suru) or ハイキングする.
Meaning: to take a long walk for pleasure or exercise (verb)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 散策する | sansaku suru |
| ハイキングする | haikingu suru |
The verb 散策する is used to describe a composed, leisurely walk, typically when exploring areas like a garden, a park or a historical district. The loanword ハイキングする refers to the activity of hiking. For more specific activities, 川登り can be used to refer to river hiking.
Which one should you use?
散策する implies a more leisurely stroll or wandering, whereas ハイキングする refers to the specific activity of hiking. While the noun 遠足 can mean a long walk, it is specifically used for a school excursion or a planned group outing.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The loanword ハイキング can be turned into a verb by adding the auxiliary verb する, forming ハイキングをする.
How do you pronounce it?
sansaku suru
Did you know?
- When people go for a ハイキング, they often visit a shrine or temple along the way to perform a ritual 'stamp rally' by collecting seals in a book.
- While ハイキング is common, many Japanese people use the word 登山 (tozan) even for relatively easy hikes, even though it strictly translates to 'mountain climbing'.
- The word 散策 comes from the characters for 'scattering' and 'walking'. It evokes the image of drifting through a landscape without a fixed destination.
Examples in context
- 登山に行きます (とうざんにいきます)I am going hiking
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hike” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
