To Climb, To Go Up
intransitive verb, godan verb
This word means to climb. You can tell this word is a verb because it ends with an う sound (る, in this case). Its meaning is similar to the meaning of the 上 kanji, which is "above." So this word is all about moving "above" something (in other words, climbing!)
のぼる
上る consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, so it will use the kun'yomi reading of the kanji. For 上, there are multiple kun'yomi readings, and you didn't learn this one yet, so here's a mnemonic to help you: You want to climb the mountain, but a gruff old man grabs your shoulder and says "No boy, you ain't climbing that thing, not today." If you're not a boy, think about how weird it is that he called you a boy. If you are a grown man, think how you wish he called you "dude" or something, not "boy." If you're a boy, well... think about how appropriate it is that he said "no boy."
ルームメイトはロフトに上る。
My roommate goes up to the loft.
エレベーターの「上る」ボタンは、ここです。
The "up" button for the elevator is right here.
サケが川を上っているのをみた。
I saw salmon swimming upstream.