歌う
utau
To sing in Japanese is 歌う (utau).
歌う is the verb used to mean producing harmonious sounds with one's voice. If you wish to refer to the concept of a 'song' as a noun, you use 歌.
Meaning: to produce harmonious sounds with one’s voice (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb 歌う can be conjugated into several forms: the past tense is 歌った (sang), the negative form is 歌わない (do not sing) and the polite continuous form is 歌っています (is singing). In casual conversation, 歌っている is used to mean 'I am singing'. You can also say 何度も歌う to express the idea of singing many times.
How do you pronounce it?
utau
Did you know?
- In Japan, the term for singing is often used metaphorically to describe the 'singing' of birds, but it is also used in technical contexts to describe the high-pitched 'singing' of certain mechanical parts or wires.
- The word 歌舞伎 (kabuki), the famous traditional theater, combines the characters for 'song' 歌 and 'dance' 舞, reflecting that the performance is a fusion of both.
- The culture of カラオケ (karaoke) literally means 'empty orchestra', combining 空 (empty) and オーケストラ (orchestra), because the musicians are missing.
Examples in context
- 君が歌う番だよ。It's your turn to sing.This sentence is useful for practicing the form 歌う.Tatoeba #8732998 by small_snow, translation #70788 by CK
- 歌うつもりですか。Are you going to sing?Tatoeba #232173 by KK_kaku_, translation #69542 by CK
- 私は歌うのが好きだ。I like to sing.Tatoeba #157997 by bunbuku, translation #256531 by CK
- 30 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yui and Hiroto are talking about a karaoke party.
- 結衣 Yui大翔くんは、ここで歌う？Hiroto-kun wa, koko de utau?Hiroto, are you going to sing here?
- 大翔 Hirotoうん、一曲だけ歌うよ。Un, ikkyoku dake utau yo.Yeah, I'll sing just one song.
- 結衣 Yuiいいな。私も歌うね。Ii na. Watashi mo utau ne.That's nice. I'll sing too.
- 大翔 Hiroto一緒に歌おうか。Issho ni utaou ka.Shall we sing together?
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 歌う, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
