踊おどる

お

ど

る

Common wordJLPTN4Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

General verb for dancing, originally referring to hopping or jumping movements. Compare 舞う, which often implies more graceful, turning, or classical dance styles.

Written forms

踊おどるUsage93%
Standard kanji spelling for dancing and the figurative 'being manipulated' sense.
おどるUsage7%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing and when the figurative nuance is not important.

Kanji

踊jump, dance, leap

Similar words

舞まう
舞う often refers to more graceful, turning, or classical dance styles, while 踊る is a broader term for dancing, originally with a hopping nuance.
躍おどる
躍る shares the same reading and can also mean 'to dance', but it often carries a nuance of leaping or springing, and is used in expressions like 胸が躍る (heart leaps with excitement).

Etymology

The verb おどる is native Japanese. The kanji 踊 is composed of 足 (foot) and 甬 (path/emerge), suggesting movement of the feet. The original meaning was a hopping or jumping dance.