Japanese word

鳴る

Pronunciation

Romajinaru

Meaning

  • verbring

Example

電話が鳴ります。den wa ga na ri ma su

The phone rings.

Illustration for 鳴る (ring)

More examples

昼休みを知らせるベルが鳴りました。hiru yasu mi o shi ra se ru be ru ga na ri ma shi ta

The bell rang to signal the lunch break.

Core concept

Describes something producing an audible sound, with the source rather than the sound itself as the focus.

Common phrases

  • 警報が鳴るkei hō ga na ru

    the alarm sounds

  • 呼び鈴が鳴るyo bi rin ga na ru

    the doorbell rings

Similar words

響くhibiku: To reverberate through a place after a sound is produced.
鳴り響くnarihibiku: To produce a loud sound that carries across a place.

Definition in Japanese

物などが音を出す。mono na do ga oto o da su

Word origin

The native Japanese verb 鳴る (naru, "to sound") has no certain detailed etymology; its written form uses the kanji 鳴 (mei, "to sound") to express the idea of producing a sound.

Usage tips

  • A Japanese phone is said to 鳴る (naru) when it rings, so the verb naturally describes the event from the phone's side rather than the caller's action.

Other meanings

  • soundverb

Related words

Word lists with this word