Noru is the Japanese verb for ‘to ride’, ‘to take’, or such

What does “noru” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “noru” to mean ‘to ride’, ‘to take’, ‘to be printed’, ‘to be placed’, or such in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this verb as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain it together with its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to use “noru” more properly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “noru”
  • Example #1: how to say “take a plane” in Japanese
• Noranai: the nai form of “noru”
  • Example #2: how to say “don’t take trains” in Japanese
• Norou: the volitional form of “noru”
  • Example #3: how to say “let’s take a bus” in Japanese
• Norimasu: the masu form of “noru”
  • Example #4: how to say “take a taxi” politely in Japanese
• Notta: the ta form of “noru”
  • Example #5: how to say “got listed on” in Japanese
• Notte: the te form of “noru”
  • Example #6: how to say “take and then” in Japanese
• Noreba: the ba form of “noru”
  • Example #7: how to say “if take” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “noru”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “noru”.

• noru – 乗る/載る (のる) : a verb meaning ‘to ride’, ‘to take’, ‘to be printed’, ‘to be placed’, or such in Japanese.

“Noru” has two different kanji expressions. Japanese native speakers use the first one when they take cars, trains, planes, and the like. They use the second one when something is printed on paper. We need to pick a proper one depending on the context and situation. The basic concept of “noru” is, however, to be or to get on something.

The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. Then, let me explain how to use this verb through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “take a plane” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
• tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its plural form, “boku tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku tachi” to make the subject in the sentence.
• yoku – よく : an adverb of frequency meaning ‘often’ in Japanese.
• hikouki – 飛行機 (ひこうき) : a noun meaning ‘plane’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• ni – に : a case particle used to say in which direction an action goes. In the example, this is used after “hikouki” to indicate the object to which the action described by “noru” is directed.

This is a typical usage of “noru”. In the example, it works together with the case particle, “ni”, to have the object in the sentence.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “noru” and how to use it through the example sentence. In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain its major conjugations. The first one is “noranai”.

Noranai: the nai form of “noru”

Below are the definition and meanings of “noranai”.

• noranai – 乗らない/載らない (のらない) : the nai form of “noru”, which means ‘not to ride’, ‘not to take’, ‘not to be printed’, ‘not to be placed’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “noranai” consists of the following two parts:

• nora – 乗ら/載ら (のら) : one conjugation of “noru”. This can have a smooth connection with “nai”.
• nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is very similar to that of “not”.

From these two parts, we can understand that “noranai” is literally the nai form of “noru” and means ‘not to ride’, ‘not to take’, ‘not to be printed’, ‘not to be placed’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to say “don’t take trains” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• karera – 彼等 (かれら) : a pronoun meaning ‘they’ in Japanese.
• densha – 電車 (でんしゃ) : a noun meaning ‘train’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.

This is a typical usage of “noranai”. When we want to mean ‘not to take trains’ in Japanese, this nai form is a good option.

Norou: the volitional form of “noru”

Below are the definition and meanings of “norou”.

• norou – 乗ろう/載ろう (のろう) : the volitional form of “noru”, which expresses volition to ride, take, get printed, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “norou” consists of the following two parts:

• noro – 乗ろ/載ろ (のろ) : one conjugation of “noru”. This can have a smooth connection with “u”.
• u – う : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make its volitional form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “norou” is literally the volitional form of “noru” and expresses volition to ride, take, get printed, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say “let’s take a bus” in Japanese

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• basu – バス (ばす) : a noun meaning ‘bus’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.

This is a typical usage of “norou”. In this example, it works to make the suggestion. When we want to say “let’s take a bus” in Japanese, this volitional form is a good option.

Norimasu: the masu form of “noru”

Below are the definition and meanings of “norimasu”.

• norimasu – 乗ります/載ります (のります) : the masu form of “noru”, which means ‘to ride’, ‘to take’, ‘to be printed’, ‘to be placed’, or such politely in Japanese.

Grammatically, “norimasu” consists of the following two parts:

• nori – 乗り/載り (のり) : one conjugation of “noru”. This can have a smooth connection with “masu”.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese masu form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “norimasu” is literally the masu form of “noru” and means ‘to ride’, ‘to take’, ‘to be printed’, ‘to be placed’, or such politely in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to say “take a taxi” politely in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• tokidoki – 時々 (ときどき) : an adverb of frequency meaning ‘sometimes’ in Japanese.
• takushī – タクシー (たくしー) : a noun meaning ‘taxi’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.

This is a typical usage of “norimasu”. Its politeness has not been reflected in the English sentence, but the Japanese sentence sounds polite thanks to the masu form. When we want to say “to take a taxi” politely in Japanese, this form is a good option.

Notta: the ta form of “noru”

Below are the definition and meanings of “notta”.

• notta – 乗った/載った (のった) : the ta form of “noru”, which means ‘rode’, ‘took’, ‘was printed’, ‘was placed’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “notta” consists of the following two parts:

• not – 乗っ/載っ (のっ) : one conjugation of “noru”. This can have a smooth connection with “ta”.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “notta” is literally the ta form of “noru” and means ‘rode’, ‘took’, ‘was printed’, ‘was placed’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to say “got listed on” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its possessive case, “boku no”, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
• burogu – ブログ (ぶろぐ) : a noun meaning ‘blog’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “boku no burogu” to make the subject in the sentence.
• gūguru – グーグル (ぐーぐる) : a noun meaning ‘Google’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “notta”. When we want to use the past tense form of “noru”, this ta form is the best option.

Notte: the te form of “noru”

Below are the definition and meanings of “notte”.

• notte – 乗って/載って (のって) : the te form of “noru”, which means ‘to ride’, ‘to take’, ‘to be printed’, ‘to be placed’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “notte” consists of the following two parts:

• not – 乗っ/載っ (のっ) : one conjugation of “noru”. This can have a smooth connection with “te”.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “notte” is literally the te form of “noru”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make a chronological order in a sentence. So, “notte” is very useful when we want to implement the order into a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to take’. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #6: how to say “take and then” in Japanese

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• ore – 俺 (おれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “notte”. In the example, it makes the chronological order in the sentence to say “take a train and then take a bus” in Japanese. When we want to make a chronological order in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to take’ in Japanese, this te form is a good option.

Noreba: the ba form of “noru”

Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of “noreba”.

• noreba – 乗れば/載れば (のれば) : the ba form of “noru”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to ride’, ‘to take’, ‘to be printed’, ‘to be placed’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “noreba” consists of the following two parts:

• nore – 乗れ/載れ (のれ) : one conjugation of “noru”. This can have a smooth connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “noreba” is literally the ba form of “noru”. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “noreba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to ride’, ‘to take’, ‘to be printed’, ‘to be placed’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #7: how to say “if take” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kono – この : a determiner used before a noun referring to a thing close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before “shinkansen” to say “this shinkansen” in Japanese.
• shinkansen – 新幹線 (しんかんせん) : a noun meaning ‘shinkansen’ or ‘bullet train’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• tokyo – 東京 (とうきょう) : a noun meaning ‘Tokyo’ in Japanese.
• ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “tokyo” to say where the listener can go.
• ikeru – 行ける (いける) : a potential verb meaning ‘can go’ or ‘to be able to go’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “noreba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “kono shinkansen ni noreba”, which means ‘if you take this shinkansen’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to take’ in Japanese, this ba form is a good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “noru” together with its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• noru – 乗る/載る (のる) : a verb meaning ‘to ride’, ‘to take’, ‘to be printed’, ‘to be placed’, or such in Japanese.
• noranai – 乗らない/載らない (のらない) : the nai form of “noru”, which means ‘not to ride’, ‘not to take’, ‘not to be printed’, ‘not to be placed’, or such in Japanese.
• norou – 乗ろう/載ろう (のろう) : the volitional form of “noru”, which expresses volition to ride, take, get printed, or such in Japanese.
• norimasu – 乗ります/載ります (のります) : the masu form of “noru”, which means ‘to ride’, ‘to take’, ‘to be printed’, ‘to be placed’, or such politely in Japanese.
• notta – 乗った/載った (のった) : the ta form of “noru”, which means ‘rode’, ‘took’, ‘was printed’, ‘was placed’, or such in Japanese.
• notte – 乗って/載って (のって) : the te form of “noru”, which means ‘to ride’, ‘to take’, ‘to be printed’, ‘to be placed’, or such in Japanese. When we want to make a chronological order in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to take’ in Japanese, this te form is a good option.
• noreba – 乗れば/載れば (のれば) : the ba form of “noru”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to ride’, ‘to take’, ‘to be printed’, ‘to be placed’, or such in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.