Meaning

Primary

To Sound

Alternative

To Ring

Word Type

intransitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

You learned 鳴く means "to chirp" (or some other animal sound). 鳴る is similar, but it's used when something just makes a sound, like a phone ringing, a bell jingling, or thunder rumbling. So 鳴る means to sound or to ring. You know this because 鳴る can also be used for when your stomach rumbles: "rrrr" ()!

Reading

なる
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

The reading can come from 鳴く. So long as you know the reading for that word you can know the reading for this word as well.

Context

Pattern of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 電話が鳴る

    the telephone rings

    音が鳴る

    a sound is emitted

    アラームが鳴る

    the alarm goes off

Context Sentences

お腹が鳴ってしまった。

My stomach growled.

電話が鳴っている。

The phone is ringing.

ドアのベルが鳴った。

The door bell rang.

Kanji Composition