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5
上がる

To Go Up

Meaning

To Go Up, To Rise, To Get Higher

Word Type

intransitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji means above, and this verb means to go up or to rise. It's an intransitive verb, so it doesn't take a direct object. For example: Prices go up. Temperatures rise. See? No direct object. You can remember this because stock prices always seems to go up when you see this one girl (がる). You don't know how this girl makes stock prices go up, she just does. Think of her as your lucky girl.

Reading

あがる

Explanation

Since this word has okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) you can guess that it uses the kun'yomi reading. You've learned that reading, but here's a mnemonic in case you need a refresher: You know this word means to go up or to rise. Imagine just rising into the air, sort of floating up all of a sudden. What would you say? You'd probably scream "Ah!" (あ) the moment you started to go up. You know, out of surprise. Going up? Ah!

Context

Patterns of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • どんどん上がる

    to go up and up

    少し上がる

    to go up a little

  • 声が上がる

    to raise one's voice

    レベルが上がる

    to level up

    テンションが上がる

    to get excited

  • 上に上がる

    to go up

    一気に上がる

    to go up all at once

    リングに上がる

    to step into the ring

    ステージに上がる

    to go up on stage

  • エレベーターで上がる

    to go up by the elevator

    かいだんで上がる

    to go up by the stairs

    エスカレーターで上がる

    to go up by the escalator

Context Sentences

八月に花火が上がる。

Fireworks get set off in August.

三フロア上までエレベーターで上がりましょう。

Let's take the elevator up three floors.

去年よりコレステロールが上がってしまった。

My cholesterol has gone up from last year.

Kanji Composition