Translation guide
The English word "verse" covers several distinct concepts: a line of poetry, a stanza, a section of a song, and a numbered passage from a religious text. Each meaning has different natural Japanese equivalents.
The learner wants to refer to a single line in a poem.
General word for a line of text, including a line of poetry. Use with a counter or number.
この詩の最初の行はとても美しい。
The first line of this poem is very beautiful.
Specifically a line of poetry. More literary than 行 alone.
He recited a few lines of verse.
The learner wants to refer to a stanza or a short section of a poem.
The learner wants to refer to the verse part of a song, as opposed to the chorus.
Common term in Japanese pop music for the verse section. Literally 'A-melody'. Used alongside Bメロ (pre-chorus) and サビ (chorus).
The verse of this song is quiet, but it gets exciting at the chorus.
Loanword from English 'verse', used in music contexts. Less common than Aメロ.
The learner wants to refer to a specific numbered verse in the Bible, Quran, etc.
The learner wants to refer to poetry as a form, or a body of poems.
行 (ぎょう) is a single line of text, including poetry. 連 (れん) is a stanza, a group of lines. 節 (せつ) is a numbered verse in a religious text. Do not confuse them.
詩 (し) means a whole poem or poetry in general. To refer to a single line, use 行 (ぎょう) or 詩行 (しぎょう). Saying 一つの詩 for 'one verse' is ambiguous and often unnatural.
Please sing the next verse.
I like writing rap verses.
I make it a rule to read one verse from the Bible every morning.
この作品は韻文で書かれている。
This work is written in verse.