Meet 馬 in words about horses and travel. Learn each reading with the whole word and its context.

The idea

馬 has 10 strokes; follow the linked diagram. 馬 alone is うま; in 乗馬（じょうば） and 馬車（ばしゃ） it is read ば. Learn compounds as complete words.

Patterns to compare
WordReadingExample in context
馬うまA horse is running in the field.
乗馬じょうばMy sister enjoys horse riding.
馬車ばしゃA horse-drawn carriage passed in front of the station.

Examples

  • 馬うまが野原のはらを走はしっています。A horse is running in the field.
  • 昨日きのう、馬うまに乗のりました。I rode a horse yesterday.
  • 妹いもうとは乗馬じょうばが好すきです。My sister enjoys horse riding.
  • 馬車ばしゃが駅えきの前まえを通とおりました。A horse-drawn carriage passed in front of the station.
  • あの白しろい馬うまはとてもおとなしいです。That white horse is very calm.
  • 私わたしたちは牧場ぼくじょうで馬うまを見みました。We saw horses at the ranch.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Do not apply うま to every compound: 乗馬 is じょうば. 馬車 is a horse-drawn carriage, not just any vehicle.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 馬 in hiragana.

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    うま

    馬 is うま, the word for a horse. In the example, a horse is running in a field.

  2. Write the reading of 乗馬 in hiragana.

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    じょうば

    乗馬 is じょうば, meaning horse riding. Its 馬 is read ば in this compound.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿車（ばしゃ）［馬／鳥］.

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    馬

    馬 completes 馬車（ばしゃ）, a horse-drawn carriage. The context is a carriage passing in front of the station.

Use it today

Write 馬 with the stroke-order diagram, cover the table, then read 馬 and 乗馬 and make a sentence with one.