LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Lesson notes · Oct 4, 2026

Run in Japanese: 走はしる (はしる), the verb that looks easy but is not

"Run" in Japanese is 走はしる (はしる) when you mean moving fast on foot — but it is a godan verb that looks like an ichidan verb, so the te-form is 走はしって, never 走はして.

If you search "run in Japanese", you will find the dictionary word in one second. The trouble starts when you try to use it. 走はしる ends in る and has an い-sound just before it, which is exactly what 食たべる and 見みる look like. Learners guess "ichidan", chop off the る, and produce 走そうます. It is wrong, and it is one of the most common slips in the first months.

The second trouble is the English word itself. "Run" is one of the most overloaded words in English: you run a mile, run a business, run a program, and a train runs every ten minutes. Japanese uses 走はしる for only some of those. This post sorts out which, in the order you will meet them: the verb itself, the conjugation trap, the anime shouts, and the "run" words that are not 走はしる at all.

The basics

How do you say "run" in Japanese?

The word is 走はしる (はしる). It means to move quickly on foot, and it is the verb you want for a person, an animal, or a character sprinting somewhere.

毎朝まいあさ、公園こうえんを走はしります。 — I run in the park every morning. (polite, a daily habit) 犬いぬが庭にわを走はしっている。 — The dog is running around the yard. (neutral, describing what you see)

The particle matters. The place where you run takes を, just like 歩あるく (to walk) in our walk in Japanese guide. 公園こうえんを走はしります is "I run through the park". If you want a destination, use に or まで: 駅えきまで走はしります, "I'll run to the station".

Why is 走はしる not an ichidan verb?

走はしる is a godan verb. The る is part of a regular godan pattern, so it changes to り, っ, ら and so on instead of just disappearing. Most る-verbs that end in -eru or -iru are ichidan, which makes 走はしる (hashi-ru) look like one. It is not.

The fastest test is to put it next to a real ichidan verb:

走はしります — I run. (polite; godan: る becomes り) 食たべます — I eat. (polite; ichidan: る simply drops)

The same split continues in the te-form and the past tense:

走はしって、そして食たべた。 — I ran, and then I ate. (neutral, one sentence that shows both verbs)

Here 走そうって keeps a small っ, while 食たべて just loses the る. If the te-form is the part that feels shaky, our guide to the te-form in Japanese has the full pattern list, and Japanese verb groups explains how to tell godan from ichidan in the first place.

What are all the forms of 走はしる?

Memorize the five forms you will use most: 走はしります, 走はしらない, 走はしって, 走はしった, 走はしれる. The stem changes, so each one needs to be seen once.

Form 走はしる (godan) 食たべる (ichidan)
Dictionary 走はしる 食たべる
Polite 走はしります 食たべます
Negative 走はしらない 食たべない
Te-form 走はしって 食たべて
Past 走はしった 食たべた
Can do 走はしれる 食たべられる

Notice the last row: the "can" form of a godan verb swaps る for れる (走はしれる), while an ichidan verb adds られる (食たべられる).

私わたしは走はしれません。 — I can't run. (polite, an ability statement) 昨日きのうは三十さんじゅう分ふん走はしった。 — I ran for thirty minutes yesterday. (neutral, past tense)

Beyond the basics

How do you say "Run!" in anime?

走はしれ! is the blunt command, 走はしって! is the urgent "please run", and 走はしるぞ! is the character declaring "I'm running". All three are the same verb in different moods.

走はしれ! — Run! (rough command, shouted at someone, common in action scenes) 走はしって! — Run! / Please run! (urgent but softer, said to someone you care about) 走はしるぞ! — Here I go! (masculine, announcing that you are about to run)

走はしれ comes from the same godan logic as everything above: 走はしる becomes 走はしれ. An ichidan verb would use ろ instead, as in 食たべろ. A famous example of the command form is the title of a classic Japanese short story, 走はしれメロス, "Run, Melos!", which is a good sentence to remember because it is real and it uses 走はしれ exactly as above.

You will hear 走はしって in everyday speech too, but without the exclamation mark and without the shouting. A friend about to miss a train might say it quietly.

How do you say "go running" or "jogging"?

Use ランニング or ジョギング for the hobby, and 走はしる for the plain action. Both are English loanwords written in katakana. ジョギング is slower and more relaxed; ランニング is the general word for running as exercise.

週末しゅうまつはジョギングをしています。 — I go jogging on weekends. (polite, a hobby) ランニングする時間じかんがありません。 — I don't have time to run. (polite, uses する with a loanword)

The pattern is simple: add する to the loanword and you have a verb. ランニングする and ジョギングする both work. Compare 走はしる, which is a native Japanese verb with a stronger "run on foot" meaning, usable even when the running is not a hobby at all.

What is the difference between 走はしる and 逃にげる?

走はしる describes the motion; 逃にげる (にげる) describes escaping. "Run away" is usually 逃にげる, even though in English the same word "run" does both jobs.

逃にげろ! — Run away! / Get out of here! (rough command, the escape is the point) 泥棒どろぼうが走はしって逃にげた。 — The thief ran away. (neutral, combines both verbs)

Notice the second sentence: Japanese stacks the two verbs. 走はしって逃にげた is "ran and escaped". 逃にげる is an ichidan verb, so unlike 走はしる it loses the る: 逃にげます, 逃にげて, 逃にげた. If you only want to say "hurry", look at our hurry up in Japanese guide: 急いそぐ (いそぐ) is about speed, not necessarily about running.

What is 駆かける, and when does it show up?

駆かける (かける) is a literary, more dramatic word for running — it means to dash or gallop. You will meet it in novels, song lyrics, and the narration of anime openings, not in everyday conversation.

少年しょうねんは丘おかを駆かけていった。 — The boy dashed off up the hill. (literary, written style)

It is also an ichidan verb. In casual life, 走はしる covers the same ground; save 駆かける for reading and for recognizing it.

Can a train "run" in Japanese?

Yes. 電車でんしゃが走はしる is perfectly natural, because 走はしる also describes vehicles moving along a track or road. This is the one place where Japanese "run" matches English "the train runs".

この電車でんしゃは海うみの近ちかくを走はしります。 — This train runs near the sea. (polite, describing a route) 新幹線しんかんせんは速はやく走はしる。 — The Shinkansen runs fast. (neutral, general fact)

Scheduled service has its own word, 運行うんこうする (うんこうする), but you rarely need it. In daily speech, trains simply 走はしる.

"Run" words that are not 走はしる

How do you say "run a business" or "run a program"?

You do not use 走はしる. "Run a business" is 経営けいえいする (けいえいする), and "run a program" is 実行じっこうする (じっこうする). This is the biggest mistake English speakers make, because the English word covers both so naturally.

彼かれは小ちいさな店みせを経営けいえいしています。 — He runs a small shop. (polite, a business) そのプログラムを実行じっこうしてください。 — Please run that program. (polite, computing)

Japanese picks a different verb for each kind of "run", depending on what is being run. Think of the English word as a label on several different Japanese verbs, not one.

What else does "run" mean in English?

Here is a map of the most common ones. The table is the part worth screenshotting.

English "run" Japanese Notes
Run on foot 走はしる the core meaning
Go jogging ジョギングする hobby, loanword
Run away 逃にげる ichidan verb
A train runs 走はしる vehicles use 走はしる too
Run a business 経営けいえいする 経営けいえい = management
Run a program 実行じっこうする 実行じっこう = execute
Run out of something なくなる "it's gone", no running involved
A nose runs 鼻水はなみずが出でる "snot comes out"

牛乳ぎゅうにゅうがなくなってしまった。 — We ran out of milk. (neutral, a small household problem) 鼻水はなみずが出でる。 — My nose is running. (plain, said while sick)

The pattern is always the same: ask "what is actually happening?" and use that verb, not 走はしる.

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the る like an ichidan verb. 走そうます, 走はして and 走はした are all wrong. The correct forms are 走はしります, 走はしって, 走はしった. The る does not vanish; it becomes り or っ.
  • Using 走はしる for "run a business" or "run a program". Japanese speakers will understand you, but it sounds like you are describing someone sprinting with a computer. Use 経営けいえいする and 実行じっこうする.
  • Using 走はしる for "run away". 走はしって逃にげる is fine, but alone 走はしる only means the motion. If the point is escaping, say 逃にげる.
  • Forgetting the particle. 走はしる takes を for the route you run along (公園こうえんを走はしる), で for the place where you run around (廊下ろうかで走はしらないで — "no running in the hallway"), and まで for a destination (駅えきまで走はしる).
  • Saying ランニング走はしる. The loanword takes する, not 走はしる. ランニングする is correct; ランニング走はしる is not.

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 1 and 2 are a pair — the same ending, two different verb groups.

1. Make the polite form of 走はしる.

Show answer

走はしります — 走はしる is godan, so the る becomes り before ます.

2. Make the polite form of 食たべる.

Show answer

食たべます — 食たべる is ichidan, so the る simply drops. This is the pair to question 1.

3. What is the te-form of 走はしる?

Show answer

走はしって — godan る-verbs become って. 走はして is wrong because it treats the verb as ichidan.

4. What is the te-form of 食たべる?

Show answer

食たべて — ichidan verbs just replace る with て. This is the pair to question 3.

5. Shout the blunt command "Run!" at a character in an action scene.

Show answer

走はしれ! — the godan command form changes る to れ. The softer, urgent version is 走はしって!

6. Say "I go jogging on weekends" using a loanword.

Show answer

週末しゅうまつはジョギングをしています — loanwords like ジョギング and ランニング take する, not 走はしる.

7. A thief runs off. Which verb is the right one for "run away": 走はしる or 逃にげる?

Show answer

逃にげる — 逃にげる means to escape. 走はしる only describes the motion, though 走はしって逃にげる combines both.

8. How do you say "he runs a small shop"?

Show answer

彼かれは小ちいさな店みせを経営けいえいしています — "run a business" is 経営けいえいする, not 走はしる.

9. How do you say "please run that program"?

Show answer

そのプログラムを実行じっこうしてください — "run a program" is 実行じっこうする. 走はしる is not used for software.

10. Is 電車でんしゃが走はしる natural Japanese?

Show answer

Yes. 走はしる also covers vehicles moving along a route, so this is the one case where Japanese matches English "the train runs".

Use a trial lesson to tell me about a run you went on, using 走はしって, 逃にげる and 急いそぐ, and double-check that the te-form is 走はしって, never 走はして.

FAQ

Is 走はしる really not an ichidan verb? It is not. 走はしる is a regular godan verb whose る follows an い-sound, which makes it look like an ichidan verb. Conjugate it with the godan pattern: 走はしります, 走はしって, 走はしった.

What is the difference between 走はしる and 駆かける? 走はしる is the everyday word. 駆かける is literary and more dramatic, closer to "dash" or "gallop", and shows up in novels, lyrics, and narration rather than in conversation.

Can I say ランニングする? Yes. Katakana loanwords usually become verbs with する, so ランニングする and ジョギングする are both normal. ランニング走はしる is not.

How do I say "run away" in Japanese? Use 逃にげる (にげる), as in 逃にげろ! for "run away!" In a story, you can also combine the two verbs: 走はしって逃にげた, "ran and escaped".

Does Japanese use 走はしる for a train? Yes. 電車でんしゃが走はしる is natural, because 走はしる covers vehicles moving along a track. The more formal verb for scheduled service is 運行うんこうする, but you rarely need it.

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.

走る	はしる — to run (on foot, also vehicles)
食べる	たべる — to eat
逃げる	にげる — to run away, to escape
駆ける	かける — to dash (literary)
急ぐ	いそぐ — to hurry
経営する	けいえいする — to run (a business)
実行する	じっこうする — to run, to execute (a program)
運行する	うんこうする — to operate (a train service)
なくなる	なくなる — to run out, to be gone
鼻水	はなみず — runny nose
公園	こうえん — park
泥棒	どろぼう — thief
ジョギング	ジョギング — jogging
ランニング	ランニング — running (exercise)

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 most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including this one, which comes up in nearly every beginner's first few lessons. 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.

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