Japanese verbs of going up and down: differences between 上がる, 登る, 乗る, 降りる, 下がる and others

A complete guide to Japanese verbs that express going up, going down, raising, lowering, climbing, getting on a vehicle, and setting.

Category: Concepts & Distinctions

How do you express “going up,” “going down,” “climbing,” “rising,” and “setting” in Japanese?

In Japanese, the ideas of “going up” and “going down” are not expressed with just one verb. Depending on the context, different verbs are used, such as 上がる（あがる）, 登る（のぼる）, 下がる（さがる）, 降りる（おりる）, and others.

The choice depends on several factors: the type of movement (upward or downward), the specific context (climbing a mountain, going up the stairs, getting off a train, the sun rising or setting), and also the grammatical structure of the verb: some are intransitive (the subject moves on its own), while others are transitive (someone raises or lowers something).

Understanding the difference between these verbs is important, because in Japanese changing the verb often means changing the way the movement itself is imagined: getting onto something, climbing upward, rising in level, appearing on the horizon, or setting are not all perceived in the same way.

The following table summarizes the main differences between all of these verbs.

In the following paragraphs, we will instead present a complete overview of the main modern and commonly used verbs for “going up” and “going down,” highlighting the differences between similar terms and providing many concrete examples in Japanese with English translations.

Important note: As with the guide to Japanese verbs of division, it is not “mandatory” to know all of them. This article is intended as a complete reference guide for learners who find it difficult to navigate such a jungle of verbal nuances. The index on the left allows you to quickly jump straight to the verb or verbs you are interested in. At the moment the index works well only on desktop; before it can be used properly on mobile too, it will still take a little more time.

Differences between similar verbs (synonyms for “going up” / “going down”)


In Japanese there are often pairs of similar verbs (sometimes even read the same way) used to indicate ascent or descent. This can be helpful, because in spoken language there is less risk of making a mistake and choosing the wrong verb. After all, if you want to say のぼる (to go up), whether you are thinking of the verb 登る or 上る makes little practical difference, since the pronunciation is the same. In that case, the real difference lies in writing. It is important to understand the nuances and usage differences between these synonyms. In the following sections we will look at the most common cases.

Going up - 上がる (agaru) vs 登る (noboru)


Both mean “to go up”, but they carry different nuances:

• 上がる (agaru) – intransitive: indicates simply going up / moving upward, often emphasizing reaching a point. The focus is on the result or destination. It is used in general contexts: going up the stairs (focusing on arriving at the upper floor), going up onto a stage, going up into someone’s house, etc.

• 登る (noboru) – intransitive: means “to climb,” “to go up by climbing.” The focus is on the process of the ascent, step by step and with effort. It is used for climbing a mountain, going up a steep staircase or slope, climbing a tree, etc. In written Japanese, the kanji 登 tends to be used for these contexts of more “demanding” ascent.


In practice, the two verbs can often describe the same action, but with a different emphasis. For example, both 階段を上がる and 階段を登る can be translated as “go up the stairs.” The difference is subtle: 階段を上がる emphasizes that you reach the upper floor, while 階段を登る emphasizes the physical act of climbing the steps. In everyday language the distinction is not always strongly marked, and many people use the kanji interchangeably in simple contexts. However, in specific situations the difference becomes clearer.

For example:

• はしごを登って、屋根に上がる。 – “Hashigo o nobotte, yane ni agaru.” – Climb the ladder and go up onto the roof. 
 In this sentence, 登って describes climbing the ladder (a gradual action), while 上がる indicates arriving on the roof (the final result).

Likewise:

• 山道を登って、展望台に上がる。 – “Yamamichi o nobotte, tenbōdai ni agaru.” – Climb the mountain path and reach the observation deck.


These examples show how 登る and 上がる can be used together: 登る for the “uphill” part of the route, and 上がる for the moment when you reach the top. In less formal contexts, however, one of the two verbs is often enough to describe the action.

上る (noboru) vs 登る (noboru)

Both are read noboru. In general, 「上る」 written with the kanji 上 is the more general verb, widely used for “going upward” in both physical and non-physical senses. 「登る」, by contrast, implies the idea of climbing with effort (for example steep slopes or mountains).

For example, we could write 坂を上る or 坂を登る (going up a slope): the second emphasizes more strongly the effort of climbing a steep incline. In modern Japanese texts, people often prefer 登る for mountains and steep stairways, and 上る for gentler slopes or more general concepts. This is not a strict rule, but a common guideline.

The verb 昇る

There is also a third verb pronounced のぼる, written with the kanji 昇る. It is used almost exclusively for celestial bodies (the sun, the moon) or in contexts involving “rising upward” quickly. For example, 太陽が昇る (the sun rises). 昇る is not used for people going up stairs or climbing mountains, while 登る is not used for the sun.

To sum up: 「上る」 is general; 「登る」 implies going up gradually and with effort (for example a mountain); 「昇る」 is used for rapid upward movement or for things like the sun rising.

Going down - 下りる (oriru) vs 降りる (oriru)


The verb oriru can be written in kanji either as 下りる or 降りる, and the difference is important:

• 下りる (oriru) – literally “to go down (from a high place)” – is used for going down from an elevated place or moving along a downward path. It belongs to the general meaning of moving from high to low in physical or geographical contexts: going down stairs, coming down from a mountain, going downhill, and so on. Examples: 階段を下りる (go down the stairs), 山を下りる (come down the mountain).

• 降りる (oriru) – written with the kanji meaning “to fall / descend” – is used when getting off a vehicle or down from a specific elevated position. Examples: 電車を降りる (get off the train), 馬から降りる (get off a horse), はしごから降りる (come down from a ladder), ベッドから降りる (get down from the bed). In other words, it indicates getting down “from on top of something” and returning with your feet to the ground.


In short, 下りる refers to descending along a route or from a high place, while 降りる refers to getting down from a vehicle or support. In spoken Japanese the pronunciation is identical; the distinction is understood through writing or context. For example, “go down the stairs” will normally be 階段を下りる, while “get off the bus” will be バスを降りる.

The verb 下る (kudaru)

This is another intransitive verb of descent, with a meaning similar to 下りる but used in slightly different contexts. 下る (kudaru) means to go downward along a road, slope, or course. For example: 坂を下る (go down a slope), 川を下る (go down a river / travel downstream).

It often appears in narrative descriptions or in written language. In everyday speech, many people prefer 坂を下りる instead of 坂を下る, but 下る is by no means old-fashioned; for example, it is common in sentences such as この道を下ると町に出ます (“if you go down this road, you will come out into town”). In addition, 下り / 上り are used for railway lines: 下り列車（くだりれっしゃ）indicates a train “going down” away from the center (for example from Tokyo toward the suburbs), while 上り列車 is the opposite, according to Japanese convention.

The verb 下がる (sagaru)

下がる is not an exact synonym of “to go down” in the contexts discussed above, but it can easily cause confusion. It means “to go down / drop” or “to move back.” You would not normally use it to say “go down the stairs” or “come down from a mountain.”

Instead, it appears in sentences such as: 気温が下がる (the temperature drops), 一歩下がる (take one step back), 成績が下がった (grades went down). So 下がる indicates downward movement in a broad or figurative sense, but not a controlled descent along something.

Its transitive counterpart is 下げる (to lower something). To express “going down” in the sense of moving downward along a route, Japanese normally uses 下りる or 下る, as explained above.

To sum up the main differences in downward movement

• 降りる for getting off a vehicle or down from something;

• 下りる (or sometimes 下る) for going down stairs, a mountain, or a sloping road;

• 下がる / 下げる for going down / lowering (not for descending along a route, but for something dropping or being lowered in a broader sense).


In the following sections, we will look at how these verbs are used in specific contexts, to make the differences easier to remember.

Specific usage contexts with examples


Below we take a closer look at how the verbs described above are used in some common practical contexts. For each context, we will provide examples in Japanese with English translations, highlighting the appropriate verbs for “going up” and “going down.” (As a reminder, we will focus on modern, everyday Japanese and avoid expressions that are too idiomatic or outdated.)

1. Going up and down a mountain 


To express the action of climbing a mountain, Japanese typically uses the verb 登る (noboru). In fact, “to climb a mountain” is expressed as 山に登る (yama ni noboru). The kanji 登 itself strongly suggests the idea of climbing. As alternatives, less common in everyday speech, Japanese also has expressions such as 山を登攀(とうはん)する (toohan suru, to make an ascent) or 登山(とざん)する (tozan suru, to go mountain climbing) – but these are more technical or written terms; 山に登る is the standard colloquial form.

To come down from a mountain, the verbs most often used are 下りる (oriru) or sometimes 降りる (oriru). In writing, 下りる is usually preferred (descent from an elevated place). Sentences can be built like 山を下りる (yama o oriru, come down the mountain) or 山から降りる (yama kara oriru, come down from the mountain).

There is also the noun / verb 下山する (gezan suru), which literally means “to descend from a mountain,” and is often used in hiking and mountaineering contexts to refer to returning down to the valley. In everyday speech, however, 山を下りる / 降りる is more common.

Climbing up a mountain in the sense of scrambling up a steep rock face with your hands can be expressed with よじ登る (yojinoboru) if you want to emphasize the physical effort of scrambling or climbing up. For example, 崖をよじ登る means “to climb up a cliff.” But when speaking more generally about climbing a mountain, even a demanding one, 登る is usually more than enough.

Here are some examples related to the mountain context:

• 富士山に登ります。 (Fujisan ni noborimasu.) – I’m climbing Mount Fuji.

• 彼らはゆっくりと山道を登っていった。 (Karera wa yukkuri to yamamichi o nobotte itta.) – They slowly made their way up the mountain path.

• 彼は険しい崖をよじ登った。 (Kare wa kewashii gake o yojinobotta.) – He climbed up a steep cliff.

• 山を下りるときは注意が必要です。 (Yama o oriru toki wa chūi ga hitsuyō desu.) – You need to be careful when coming down a mountain.

• 私たちは午後までに無事に山から降りてきた。 (Watashitachi wa gogo made ni buji ni yama kara orite kita.) – We came down safely from the mountain by the afternoon.


Note: In informal contexts, 山を降りる and 山を下りる are both used in speech – the pronunciation is identical. In more formal writing, 山を下りる would usually be preferred to indicate geographical descent.

2. Going up and down a slope / incline 


To describe going up or down a sloping road, a hill, or an incline, Japanese uses several different verbs.

• Going up a slope: we can use 登る / 上る (noboru) or 上がる (agaru) depending on the context and nuance. Very often people say 坂を登る or 坂道を上る (saka (michi) o noboru) for “go up a slope / incline.” In colloquial contexts you may also hear 坂を上がる (saka o agaru) – especially when the focus is on reaching the top of the slope. Both forms are acceptable; 登る may highlight the effort of climbing the incline, while 上がる is more general. The word 坂 (saka) means “slope / uphill / downhill” depending on the context, and 坂道 (sakamichi) refers specifically to a sloping road.

• Going down a slope: here Japanese tends to use 下る (kudaru) or 下りる (oriru). 坂を下る (saka o kudaru) is a direct way to say “go down a hill / slope.” In everyday speech, 坂を下りる (saka o oriru) is also naturally understood as “go down the slope.” In addition, there is the expression 下り坂 (kudarizaka), meaning “downhill slope” (the noun, opposite of 上り坂 noborizaka, uphill slope). For example 下り坂になる (“it becomes downhill”) or 下り坂をゆっくり降りる.


Here are some examples related to slopes and inclines:

• 自転車でこの坂を登るのは大変だ。 (Jitensha de kono saka o noboru no wa taihen da.) – It’s hard to ride a bicycle up this slope.

• 坂道を上がっていくと古いお寺があります。 (Sakamichi o agatte iku to furui otera ga arimasu.) – If you go up this sloping road, there is an old temple.

• 車は坂道をゆっくり下って行った。 (Kuruma wa sakamichi o yukkuri kudatte itta.) – The car slowly went down the sloping road.

• 大きな荷物を持って坂道を下りた。 (Ōkii nimotsu o motte sakamichi o orita.) – He went down the slope carrying a large piece of luggage.


In the last example, 下りた (past form of oriru) shows that the person “went down” along the road. It would also have been possible to say 坂道を下って行った (“continued going down the road”) if the intention were to emphasize the continuous movement.

In contexts involving vehicles on slopes, Japanese often uses the same verbs: for example 峠道を車で下る (tōgemichi o kuruma de kudaru, drive down the mountain pass road). Also, as mentioned above, 上り坂 and 下り坂 are very common expressions: 上り坂でエンジンが唸(うな)る “the engine strains uphill”; 下り坂ではブレーキを控えめに “go easy on the brakes downhill”, and so on.

3. Going up and down stairs 


Going up the stairs in Japanese can be expressed with 階段を上る / 登る (kaidan o noboru). Stairs (階段 kaidan) are one of those cases where both 上る and 登る are commonly used in writing and speech, often without any major distinction. Some people also prefer 階段を上がる (kaidan o agaru), which is just as common: it carries the idea of “going up the stairs” with an emphasis on reaching the upper floor. In practice, 階段を上がる and 階段を登る are largely interchangeable in everyday conversation.

Going down the stairs is expressed with 階段を下りる (kaidan o oriru). Here 下る is used much less often, and 降りる is almost never chosen in writing (even though the pronunciation is identical in speech). So “go down the stairs” = 階段を下りる. In very formal language one could say 階段を降下(こうか)する, but this is not used in daily life.

Here are some specific examples involving stairs:

• 毎朝、駅で長い階段を上ります。 (Maiasa, eki de nagai kaidan o noborimasu.) – Every morning I go up a long flight of stairs at the station.

• 彼は階段を急いで上がった。 (Kare wa kaidan o isoide agatta.) – He hurried up the stairs.

• 子供たちは元気よく階段を駆け上がっていった。 (Kodomo-tachi wa genki yoku kaidan o kakeagatte itta.) – The children ran up the stairs energetically.

• 年配の方がゆっくり階段を下りています。 (Nempai no kata ga yukkuri kaidan o orite imasu.) – An elderly person is slowly going down the stairs.

• 急な階段を下りるときは気をつけて。 (Kyū na kaidan o oriru toki wa ki o tsukete.) – Be careful when going down a steep staircase.


In these examples we can see several nuances: 駆け上がっていった (kakeagatte itta) combines 駆ける (to run) with 上がる to express “run up (the stairs).” Likewise, Japanese also has 駆け下りる (kakeoriru) for “run down.” These compounds are common when describing the manner of going up or down (running, walking, crawling, and so on).

One more useful detail: in Japanese, when saying “go upstairs” or “go downstairs,” people often simply use 上がる and 下りる without explicitly mentioning “stairs.” For example, ２階に上がる (ni-kai ni agaru) means “go up to the second floor,” while 地下に下りる (chika ni oriru) means “go down to the basement.”

It is understood from context that this may happen via stairs or elevator. By contrast, 降りる together with a floor number can suggest using an elevator: for example エレベーターで１階に降りる (“go down to the first floor by elevator”). In everyday speech, however, people often leave that unspecified and may still say １階に下りる for “go down to the ground floor.”

4. Getting on and off a means of transportation 


In Japanese, “to get on a vehicle” is expressed with the verb 乗る (noru). It is intransitive and requires the particle に for the thing you get on. For example:

• 電車に乗る – get on the train (or take the train).

• バスに乗る – get on the bus.

• 自転車に乗る – ride a bicycle (literally: get on a bicycle).

• 馬に乗る – ride a horse.


乗る is also widely used in the broader sense of “take a means of transportation” (for example タクシーに乗る – take a taxi). Be careful with particles: noru takes に (not を). For example バスを乗る is incorrect; it must be バスに乗る. A simple way to remember it: “get onto / on top of something” → particle に.

For “getting off a vehicle,” Japanese uses 降りる (oriru) with the particle を (or sometimes から). For example:

• 電車を降りる – get off the train.

• バスを降りる – get off the bus.

• 車から降りる – get out of the car (here with から, equivalent to “from”).


In spoken Japanese, both を and から can naturally be used with oriru. を降りる is very common (even though grammatically を marks the direct object here, it works as a fixed idiomatic pattern). から降りる emphasizes the point of origin (getting out from inside the bus). Both are correct and commonly used.

It is also useful to know the related transitive forms, for situations where someone makes someone else get on or get off:

• 乗せる (noseru) – make someone get on / load someone or something onto a vehicle. Example: 友達を車に乗せる – let a friend get into the car / give a friend a ride.

• 降ろす (orosu) – make someone get off / drop someone off, or unload something. Example: ここで降ろしてください – “Please let me off here.” In this case orosu is used when asking the driver to let you get out.


Here are some concrete examples related to transportation:

• 朝は通勤客が電車に大勢乗ります。 (Asa wa tsūkin-kyaku ga densha ni ōzei norimasu.) – In the morning many commuters get on the train.

• 彼女はバスに乗る前にICカードをタッチした。 (Kanojo wa basu ni noru mae ni IC kādo o tacchi shita.) – Before getting on the bus, she tapped her IC card.

• 僕は毎日自転車に乗って学校に行きます。 (Boku wa mainichi jitensha ni notte gakkō ni ikimasu.) – Every day I go to school by bicycle.

• 次の駅で電車を降ります。 (Tsugi no eki de densha o orimasu.) – I’ll get off the train at the next station.

• お年寄りがバスから降りるのを手伝った。 (Otoshi-yori ga basu kara oriru no o tetsudatta.) – I helped an elderly person get off the bus.

• タクシーを降りた後、忘れ物に気づいた。 (Takushī o orita ato, wasuremono ni kizuita.) – After getting out of the taxi, I realized I had forgotten something.

• 車に友達を乗せて、海まで行った。 (Kuruma ni tomodachi o nosete, umi made itta.) – I picked up a friend by car and we drove to the sea.

• 「次の角で降ろしてください」とタクシーの運転手に頼んだ。 (“Tsugi no kado de oroshite kudasai” to takushī no untenshu ni tanonda.) – I asked the taxi driver, “Please let me off at the next corner.”


In these examples, notice the contrast between に乗ります and を降ります, as well as the use of 乗って (the -te form of noru) to mean “go by / ride,” and 降りた後 (“after getting off”) in a temporal subordinate clause.

One more detail: although 乗る and 降りる are used for getting on and off vehicles in general, Japanese also has more specific terms in nautical and aviation contexts: for example 乗船する for boarding a ship, 下船する for getting off a ship; 搭乗する for boarding an airplane, and 降機する for getting off an airplane. These are more formal or technical. In everyday situations, people will naturally say 船に乗る (get on a ship) and 船を降りる (get off a ship).

5. The sun and moon rising and setting 


When talking about celestial bodies that rise or go down in the sky, Japanese uses specific verbs:

• For the sun rising (and also the moon rising), the most common verb is 昇る (noboru), often written with this kanji meaning “to ascend.” For example: 太陽が昇る (Taiyō ga noboru) – “the sun rises.” The moon can be expressed the same way: 月が昇る (tsuki ga noboru). Another colloquial way to say the moon appears is 月が出る (tsuki ga deru, “the moon comes out”), but if we want to emphasize upward movement from the horizon, Japanese uses 昇る.

• Typically, 登る (the kanji associated with climbing) is used only for concrete objects or people, while 昇る is used for the sun, moon, or similar phenomena. For example, 日の出 (hinode) means “sunrise,” but the action itself can be described with 日が昇る (“the sun rises”). The same applies to the moon: 月の出 (tsuki no de, moonrise) or 月が昇る.

• For the sun or moon setting, Japanese does not use a verb derived from 下がる or 下りる, but instead the verb 沈む (shizumu), which means to sink / go down. So we say 太陽が沈む (Taiyō ga shizumu) – the sun sets (literally “sinks”), and 月が沈む (tsuki ga shizumu) – the moon sets. A more technical synonym for the sun setting is 日が没する (hi ga bosssuru) or 日没 (nichibotsu, sunset), but 沈む is by far the most common word in everyday speech.


Here are some examples related to the sun and moon:

• 太陽は毎朝東の空から昇ります。 (Taiyō wa mai asa higashi no sora kara noborimasu.) – The sun rises every morning in the eastern sky.

• 夏になると、朝5時にはもう日が昇っている。 (Natsu ni naru to, asa go-ji ni wa mō hi ga nobotte iru.) – In summer, by five in the morning the sun has already risen.

• 今夜は満月がきれいに昇った。 (Kon’ya wa mangetsu ga kirei ni nobotta.) – Tonight the full moon rose beautifully.

• 夕方6時頃に日が沈みます。 (Yūgata roku-ji goro ni hi ga shizumimasu.) – The sun sets around six in the evening.

• 太陽が沈む前に家に帰りましょう。 (Taiyō ga shizumu mae ni ie ni kaerimashō.) – Let’s go home before the sun sets.

• 昨夜は月が遅く沈んだ。 (Sakuya wa tsuki ga osoku shizunda.) – Last night the moon set late.


In these examples, 日が昇っている (hi ga nobotte iru) means “the sun is already up,” emphasizing that it has already risen. 昇った / 沈んだ are the past forms (“rose / set”). One thing worth noticing is that in English we say “the sun sets,” while in Japanese the literal image is “the sun sinks (沈む).” In the same way, for the moon 沈む can be understood as “disappear below the horizon.”

A common related set of expressions is 日の出 (hinode, sunrise) and 日の入り (hi no iri, sunset, literally “the sun entering”), or 日没 (nichibotsu). These are nouns; the verbs to remember for the actions themselves are 昇る and 沈む.

Final summary


In modern everyday Japanese, the actions “to go up” and “to go down” are expressed through a variety of precise verbs. To summarize the main points briefly:

• Going up (general): 上がる (agaru, intr.) – move upward / go up (with focus on reaching a point); 上げる (ageru, trans.) – raise something.

• Going up (physical ascent): 登る / 上る (noboru, intr.) – climb / go up elevated places (mountains, stairs, etc.). 登る emphasizes effort or gradual ascent; 上る is more general.

• Getting on (vehicles): 乗る (noru, intr.) – get on board a vehicle (train, bus, bicycle, etc.) (+に); 乗せる (noseru, trans.) – make someone or something get on / put on board.

• Going down (general): 下りる / 降りる (oriru, intr.) – go down. 下りる for descending from elevated places (stairs, slopes), 降りる for getting off vehicles or down from something.

• Getting off (vehicles): 降りる (oriru, intr.) – get off a vehicle (+を / から); 降ろす / 下ろす (orosu, trans.) – let someone get off / unload.

• Other verbs of descent: 下る (kudaru, intr.) – go down / travel downward (for example a river or road); 下がる (sagaru, intr.) – go down, drop, move back (not used for descending along a physical route); 下げる (sageru, trans.) – lower something.

• Sun / moon: 昇る (noboru, intr.) – rise (go up into the sky); 沈む (shizumu, intr.) – set (go below the horizon).


Conclusion

Through many practical examples we have seen how to use these verbs correctly in different contexts. It is important to pay attention to particles (especially に with 乗る and を / から with 降りる) and to the kanji when writing, in order to preserve the intended nuance of meaning (especially 下りる vs 降りる and 登る vs 昇る). In spoken Japanese, context usually makes the intended meaning clear (there is generally no ambiguity in saying oriru in conversation: people will understand from what was said before whether you mean getting off a bus or going down a staircase).