LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Lesson notes · Oct 2, 2026

Play Piano in Japanese: 弾ひく, 吹ふく, 叩たたく and Why There Is No Single "Play

Play piano in Japanese is ピアノを弾ひく (piano o hiku) — but "弾ひく" only works for strings and keys, because Japanese picks the verb by how you make the sound, not by the word "play."

English uses one verb for everything: play piano, play flute, play drums, play soccer, play games. Japanese splits that single verb into a handful of different ones, and the split is not random. It follows the physical action of your hands or mouth. Once you see the logic, you can guess the right verb for an instrument you have never met.

The basics

How do you say "play piano" in Japanese?

The standard phrase is ピアノを弾ひく. 弾ひく (ひく) is the verb for producing sound by plucking, strumming, bowing, or pressing keys. The instrument takes the particle を.

ピアノを弾ひきます。 — I play the piano. (polite, neutral) 毎朝まいあさ、ピアノを弾ひいています。 — I play the piano every morning. (polite, habit with -te imasu) ギターを弾ひく。 — To play the guitar. (dictionary form, how you would see it in a vocabulary list)

The same verb covers the whole family of strings and keys: ギター (guitar), バイオリン (violin), ベース (bass), ハープ (harp), 三味線しゃみせん (shamisen), 琴こと (koto), and also the keyboard-style instruments like エレクトーン.

Which verb goes with which instrument?

Think about what your body does. Pressing, plucking, or bowing is 弾ひく. Blowing is 吹ふく. Hitting is 叩たたく.

Verb Reading The action Instruments
弾ひく ひく press, pluck, strum, bow piano, guitar, violin, bass, harp, koto
吹ふく ふく blow flute, saxophone, trumpet, recorder, harmonica
叩たたく たたく hit drums, percussion
演奏えんそうする えんそうする perform / play (formal) any instrument

The rule of thumb: look at the sound source. A string vibrates or a key triggers a hammer, so 弾ひく. Air goes through a tube, so 吹ふく. A stick hits a skin, so 叩たたく.

How do you say "play the flute" or "play the drums"?

Wind instruments take 吹ふく (ふく), the same verb as "the wind blows."

フルートを吹ふきます。 — I play the flute. (polite, wind instrument) トランペットを吹ふくのが得意とくいです。 — I'm good at playing the trumpet. (polite, describing a skill)

Drums take 叩たたく (たたく), which also means "to hit" in everyday life. For a drum kit, many people simply say ドラムを叩たたく, and that is completely normal and not violent.

ドラムを叩たたくのが楽たのしいです。 — Playing the drums is fun. (polite, hobby comment) 太鼓たいこを叩たたく。 — To play a taiko drum. (dictionary form)

Is there one verb that works for every instrument?

Yes: 演奏えんそうする (えんそうする). It means "to perform" and works for any instrument, a whole orchestra, or a concert. The catch is the register. It sounds formal and slightly stage-like, so you would not use it to say you play the piano as a casual hobby.

バイオリンを演奏えんそうします。 — I play the violin. (formal, sounds like a concert program or a resume) この曲きょくは三人さんにんで演奏えんそうしました。 — We performed this piece as a trio. (polite, describing a performance)

If you are unsure which verb an instrument takes, 演奏えんそうする is the safe fallback. It is always understood. It just sounds more "official" than 弾ひく or 吹ふく.

Beyond the basics

Why can't you say ピアノで遊あそぶ for "play piano"?

This is the biggest trap for English speakers. 遊あそぶ (あそぶ) is the "play" of children playing, goofing around, or hanging out. It never means "play an instrument."

子こどもが公園こうえんで遊あそんでいます。 — The kids are playing in the park. (polite, 遊あそぶ is the right verb here) ピアノで遊あそんでいます。 — (They're) messing around on the piano. (this is not "playing the piano" as music; it sounds like a child banging on the keys for fun)

If you say ピアノで遊あそぶ meaning "I play the piano," a Japanese listener will picture someone fooling around, not practicing a piece. Use 弾ひく.

What about sports and games?

Neither 弾ひく nor 遊あそぶ. Sports use する (to do), and games use する as well.

サッカーをします。 — I play soccer. (polite, sport with する) ゲームをするのが好すきです。 — I like playing video games. (polite, hobby)

So the English word "play" breaks into at least four Japanese families: 弾ひく / 吹ふく / 叩たたく for instruments, する for sports and games, 遊あそぶ for free play, and 演奏えんそうする for formal performance. There is also やる, the casual cousin of する, which works for both music and sports in speech: ピアノをやっています sounds like "I do piano" and is perfectly natural for talking about a long-term hobby.

How do you ask "Can you play the piano?"

Use the potential form of the verb. 弾ひく becomes 弾ひける (ひける), "can play."

ピアノが弾ひけますか。 — Can you play the piano? (polite question) ギターは少すこし弾ひけます。 — I can play the guitar a little. (polite, は marks the contrast) まだ全然ぜんぜん弾ひけません。 — I still can't play at all. (polite, honest beginner answer)

Notice the particle shift. With the plain verb you say ピアノを弾ひく, but with the potential form it is usually ピアノが弾ひける. The longer pattern 弾ひくことができる also works, and it is covered in detail in koto ga dekiru and the potential form.

How do you say "I like playing the piano"?

Turn the verb into a noun with の or こと, then add 好すきです.

ピアノを弾ひくのが好すきです。 — I like playing the piano. (polite, conversational) 趣味しゅみはギターを弾ひくことです。 — My hobby is playing the guitar. (polite, self-introduction style)

Both patterns are normal. の is a bit more spoken, and こと a bit more like a written list. If the difference is new to you, koto vs no explains when each one fits. For a full set of hobby words to use in your introduction, see Japanese hobbies vocabulary and the self-introduction guide at japanese-self-introduction-jikoshoukai.

Do people say "play the piano" differently in anime and club life?

Yes, but still with the same verbs. Two settings show this clearly.

Take a brass band story: a club of students practicing together. They use 吹ふく for brass and woodwind (トランペットを吹ふく, サックスを吹ふく) and 叩たたく for percussion, and the whole group together is 演奏えんそうする. The club talks about 演奏えんそう when they perform at a competition, because that is the formal moment.

Then take a light music club, 軽音けいおん部ぶ (けいおんぶ), where students form rock bands. There, the verbs are the casual ones: ギターを弾ひく, ベースを弾ひく, ドラムを叩たたく. A band member might say:

今日きょうはギターを弾ひきたい。 — I want to play guitar today. (casual, 弾ひきたい is the "want to" form) ドラム、叩たたいてもいい? — Can I play the drums? (casual, asking permission)

You will notice that nobody says 演奏えんそうする during an ordinary after-school jam. It comes out only when the context becomes a stage.

Is 弾ひく the same as 引ひく?

No, and it is a famous homophone pair. Both are read ひく.

Written Meaning Example
弾ひく play (strings, keys) ピアノを弾ひく
引ひく pull, subtract ドアを引ひく / 風邪かぜを引ひく

The kanji give you the clue: 弾だん contains 弓ゆみ (bow) on the left, a picture of a stringed instrument action, while 引ひく is a bow with a line, meaning "pull the string." When you type on a keyboard, make sure to choose 弾ひく for music. For more pairs like this, see Japanese homophones.

Common mistakes

  • Using 遊あそぶ for instruments. ピアノで遊あそぶ means messing around on the piano, not playing it. Use 弾ひく.
  • Using 弾ひく for wind or drums. フルートを弾ひく is wrong. Wind is 吹ふく, drums are 叩たたく. Do not generalize the "string" verb to everything.
  • Using 演奏えんそうする in casual talk. It is not wrong, but telling a friend ギターを演奏えんそうします at a party sounds like reading a program note.
  • Saying ピアノをする for "play piano." Sports take する, but instruments do not. For a habit you can say ピアノをやっています, but not ピアノをします.
  • Mixing up 弾ひく and 引ひく. They sound the same. The meaning is decided by context and kanji.

Practice

Try to answer before opening each one. Questions 3 and 4 are a pair, and so are 5 and 6.

1. How do you say "I play the piano" in polite Japanese?

Show answer

ピアノを弾ひきます — piano is a key instrument, and key and string instruments take 弾ひく.

2. Which verb goes with the flute: 弾ひく, 吹ふく, or 叩たたく?

Show answer

吹ふく — you blow air through a flute, and wind instruments take 吹ふく.

3. Say "I play the drums" using the verb for hitting.

Show answer

ドラムを叩たたきます — you strike drums, so the verb is 叩たたく. This is the pair to question 4.

4. Say "I play the guitar" with a verb that fits strings.

Show answer

ギターを弾ひきます — strumming strings is 弾ひく, not 叩たたく. It contrasts with question 3.

5. A learner says ピアノで遊あそんでいます, meaning "I play the piano." What do Japanese listeners picture?

Show answer

Someone messing around on the piano — 遊あそぶ means free play or having fun, not playing music. This is the pair to question 6.

6. How do you say "I play soccer"?

Show answer

サッカーをします — sports take する. 遊あそぶ is for free play, and the instrument verbs only apply to music.

7. How do you ask "Can you play the piano?"

Show answer

ピアノが弾ひけますか — 弾ひく turns into the potential form 弾ひける, and the instrument usually takes が.

8. How do you say "I like playing the guitar"?

Show answer

ギターを弾ひくのが好すきです — の turns the verb phrase into a noun so that 好すき can follow.

9. Which one means "play (an instrument)", 弾ひく or 引ひく?

Show answer

弾ひく — both are read ひく, but 引ひく means pull or subtract, as in ドアを引ひく.

10. Which single verb works for any instrument but sounds formal?

Show answer

演奏えんそうする — it means "to perform," so it fits any instrument, but it sounds like a concert program.

In a trial lesson, say which instruments you play, using 弾ひく for piano, 吹ふく for flute and 叩たたく for drums.

FAQ

Is ピアノを弾ひく the only way to say "play piano" in Japanese? It is the standard one. In conversation you will also hear ピアノをやっている for a long-term hobby, and ピアノを演奏えんそうする in formal or written settings.

Can I say "play" for a singing voice too? No. For singing, the verb is 歌うたう (うたう). Japanese treats the voice and instruments as separate actions.

What verb do you use for a trombone or a tuba? 吹ふく. Every brass instrument is blown, so the verb is the same as for the trumpet.

What about the recorder or a harmonica? Both are blown, so 吹ふく: リコーダーを吹ふく, ハーモニカを吹ふく.

Is 弾ひく used for the electric keyboard or synthesizer? Yes. Keys and strings are covered by 弾ひく, so キーボードを弾ひく and シンセを弾ひく are both normal.

Can I use 弾ひく for a board game or a card game? No. Written 弾ひく but read はじく, it means to flick or to repel (a coin, water). Board and card games use する or 遊あそぶ, depending on how casual the sentence is.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

弾く	ひく — to play (strings, keys)
吹く	ふく — to blow, to play (wind instrument)
叩く	たたく — to hit, to play (drums)
演奏する	えんそうする — to perform, to play (formal)
遊ぶ	あそぶ — to play, to have fun
引く	ひく — to pull
弾ける	ひける — can play (potential of 弾く)
ピアノ	ピアノ — piano
ギター	ギター — guitar
フルート	フルート — flute
ドラム	ドラム — drums
軽音部	けいおんぶ — light music club
趣味	しゅみ — hobby
好き	すき — to like

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard in lessons and shows — including the band-club talk here. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5 · Read something at this level: JLPT N5 stories with audio

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