Japanese word

飛ぶ

Pronunciation

Romajitobu

Meaning

  • verbfly

Example

鳥が空を飛びます。tori ga sora o to bi ma su

A bird flies in the sky.

Illustration for 飛ぶ (fly)

More examples

飛行機が空を飛びます。hi kō ki ga sora o to bi ma su

An airplane flies in the sky.

飛行機は雲の間を飛びます。hi kō ki wa kumo no aida o to bi ma su

The airplane flies between the clouds.

Core concept

Presents movement through the air above the ground, whether it comes from wings, an aircraft, or a throw.

Common phrases

  • 空を飛ぶsora o to bu

    fly through the sky

  • 低く飛ぶhiku ku to bu

    fly low

  • 雲の上を飛ぶkumo no ue o to bu

    fly above the clouds

Similar words

飛行するhikōsuru: To move through the air from one place to another, often in an aircraft.

Definition in Japanese

鳥や航空機などが、地面から離れて空中を進む。tori ya kō kū ki na do ga ji men ka ra hana re te kū chū o susu mu

Word origin

飛ぶ (tobu) is a native Japanese verb whose written form uses 飛 (hi, "fly"); the stem 飛び (tobi) appears before many verb endings.

Usage tips

  • The plain past form 飛んだ (tonda) changes the final ぶ (bu) to んだ (nda), following a regular godan verb pattern.

Opposites

Related words

  • 飛び方tobikataway of flyingnoun

Word lists with this word