To Strike
To Tap, To Hit, To Knock, To Beat
transitive verb, godan verb
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 itself means tap or strike, and the verb version is to strike, to tap, to hit, to knock, or to beat.
This verb can be used for both things and people, and the English translation will change depending on what it is you're striking. You'll always have some kind of object, though, since this is a transitive verb. So you might tap someone on the shoulder, knock at a door, or beat a drum.
Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You haven't learned this reading yet, so here's a mnemonic to help you:
When you're going to strike something over and over it makes a ta-ta (たた) sound. Imagine you're about to beat a steel drum, for example. Now listen... たた! There! Did you hear it?
ドラムを叩く才能がありますね。
You have a talent for beating drums.
開ける前に、ドアを叩いてって言ったよね！？
I told you to knock on the door before opening it, didn't I?!
釘バットで叩かれるのって、本当に痛い！
Being hit with spiked bats really hurts!