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撃つ (うつ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

撃うつ

う

つ

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

godan verb (-tsu), transitive verb

Used for shooting a gun, firing a weapon, or shooting a person/animal with a projectile. The object can be the weapon or the target.

犯はん人にんは警けい官かんに向むかって拳けん銃じゅうを撃うった。
The criminal fired a handgun at the police officer.
彼かれはクマ

を

ライフル

で

撃う

っ

た

。

He shot the bear with a rifle.

Written forms

撃うつ
Standard kanji for shooting with a firearm or projectile weapon.
射うつ
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 撃つ is overwhelmingly preferred in modern Japanese.

Kanji

撃beat, attack, defeat
射shoot, shine into, onto

Similar words

打うつ
打つ means to hit, strike, or type; 撃つ is specifically for shooting with a firearm or projectile weapon.
射いる
射る is used for shooting an arrow (弓を射る) and is more literary or traditional; 撃つ is the standard verb for firearms.

Etymology

The kanji 撃 carries the meaning of 'attack' or 'strike', and the reading うつ is shared with 打つ (to hit). The verb is native Japanese, and the specific association with shooting developed with the introduction of firearms.