書く
かく
kaku
= to write
書く (kaku) is the fundamental Japanese verb for putting words or characters onto a surface — whether drafting a heartfelt letter, filling in a form, or practicing kanji strokes in a notebook. It sits at the core of Japanese literacy, from a child’s first writing exercises to the centuries-old art of calligraphy.
書く means to write in the broadest sense: composing text, inscribing characters, and recording information by hand or by typing. It takes a direct object marked by を, so the thing being written comes before the verb — tegami wo kaku (write a letter), namae wo kaku (write one’s name). The verb belongs to the u-verb (godan) group and conjugates to kakimasu (polite), kaite (te-form), and kakanai (negative). In casual speech, kaite is used as a request meaning please write or write it down. The polite command form kakite kudasai is common in classrooms and offices alike.
The biggest stumbling block for learners is that Japanese has three common verbs all pronounced kaku but written with different kanji: 書く (to write), 描く (to draw or depict), and 掻く (to scratch). In speech, context alone distinguishes them, but in writing the kanji makes the meaning unambiguous — 書く uses 書, 描く uses 描, 掻く uses 掻. A second point: 書く covers both handwriting and typing in modern usage, so saying meeru wo kaku (write an email) is perfectly natural even though no pen is involved. Finally, the te-form kaite is heavily used — kaite kudasai in instructions, kaite iru for the progressive (is writing), and kaite atta for a state of having been written.
書 is built from the component 聿 (a hand gripping a brush) over 曰 (speech/words), visually capturing the act of a hand producing written language. It appears in compound words such as 書道 (shodou, calligraphy), 書類 (shorui, documents), 辞書 (jisho, dictionary), and 読書 (dokusho, reading books). Recognizing 書 immediately signals a connection to written language in any compound.
Everyday use
母に手紙を書く。
Haha ni tegami wo kaku.
I write a letter to my mother.
Casual / Social Media
週に一度、ブログを書いています。
Shuu ni ichido, burogu wo kaite imasu.
I write a blog post once a week.
Formal / Cultural context
お正月には、家族に年賀状を書く習慣があります。
Oshougatsu ni wa, kazoku ni nengajou wo kaku shukan ga arimasu.
It is a custom to write New Year’s cards to family at New Year’s.
One of the richest cultural dimensions of 書く is its connection to shodou (書道), Japanese calligraphy. In shodou, the act of writing a single kanji with a brush is treated as an artistic discipline — the pressure, speed, and angle of each stroke carry aesthetic meaning beyond the character’s literal content. Learners of Japanese often encounter shodou in school culture festivals, where students write large characters such as 夢 (dream) or 力 (strength) on washi paper, turning the simple act of kaku into performance and art.
Handwriting remains culturally significant in Japan in ways that have faded elsewhere. Nengajou (年賀状), New Year’s postcards sent by the millions each January, are still handwritten by many people rather than printed, because a handwritten card conveys personal warmth that a template cannot. Similarly, giving a hand-addressed envelope at a wedding or formal occasion signals care and respect. This means that knowing how to 書く clearly and neatly — both hiragana and kanji — carries real social weight for learners living in or visiting Japan.
In Japanese elementary schools, kakitori (書き取り) — kanji dictation drills — are a cornerstone of language education. Students hear a word spoken aloud and must write the correct kanji from memory, reinforcing the link between sound and character. This practice reflects a broader cultural belief that the ability to write kanji by hand is a mark of education and refinement, even as smartphone input methods make hand-writing less frequent in daily life.