Some Japanese verbs are more specific when describing actions than English verbs. While there is only one verb used for a certain action in English, there might be several different verbs in Japanese. One of the examples is the verb "to wear." In English, it can used as, "I wear a hat," "I wear gloves," "I wear glasses" and so on. However, Japanese has different verbs depending on which part of the body it will be worn on.


Let's take a look how the Japanese describe "to wear."

 

• Boushi o kaburu. ??????｡ --- I wear a hat.
  ("Kaburu" is used for putting on the head.)
   
  
• Megane o kakeru. ???????｡ --- I wear glasses.
  ("Kakeru" also means, "to hang.")
   
  
• Iyaringu o tsukeru. ?????????｡ --- I wear earrings.
  ("Tsukeru" also means, "to attach.")
   
  
• Nekutai o shimeru. ????????｡ --- I wear a tie.
  ("Shimeru" also means, "to tie.")
   
  
• Sukaafu o maku. ???????｡ --- I wear scarf.
  ("Maku" also means, "to wrap around.")
   
  
• Tebukuro o hameru. ??????｡ --- I wear gloves.
  ("Hameru" also means, "to insert.")
   
  
• Yubiwa o hameru. ??????｡ --- I wear rings.
   
  
• Tokei o suru. ?????｡ --- I wear a watch.
   
  
• Shatsu o kiru. ??????｡ --- I wear shirts.
  ("Kiru" is used for putting on the body.)
   
  
• Zubon o haku. ??????｡ --- I wear pants.
  ("Haku" is used for putting on the legs.)
   
  
• Kutsu o haku. ????｡ --- I wear shoes.
  ("Haku" is also used for putting on footwear.)
  Another example is the verb "to play."
  
   
  
• Omocha de asobu. ???????｡ --- I play with toys.
  ("Asobu" originally means, "to amuse oneself.")
   
  

• Piano o hiku. ??????｡ --- I play the piano.
  ("Hiku" is used to play the musical instrument that requires the manipulation of fingers.)
   
  
• Fue o fuku. ????｡ --- I play the flute.
  ("Fuku" is used to play the musical instrument that requires blowing.)
   
  
• Taiko o tataku. ??????｡ --- I play the drum.
  ("Tataku" is used to play the musical instrument that requires beating.)
   
  
• Rekoodo o kakeru. ????????｡ --- I am playing a record.
   
  
• Toranpu o suru. ???????｡ --- I play cards.
   
  
• Yakyuu o suru. ?????｡ --- I play baseball.
  ("Suru" can be used for most sports.)
   
  
• Romio o enjiru. ???????｡ --- I play the role of Romeo.