English ‘run’ is a chameleon verb — you can run a marathon, run a restaurant, let water run, run for mayor, or run a program on your computer, all with one word. Japanese splits these into different verbs entirely. Choosing the wrong one sounds as odd as saying ‘I manage every morning before breakfast’ when you mean you jog.
The situations to know
- Running with your legs → 走る (hashiru). Default. ‘I run every morning’ = 毎朝走ります. For jogging specifically, ジョギングする works.
- Running a business / operation → 運営する (un’ei suru) for organizations/events, 営む (itonamu) for small shops and self-employment, 経営する (keiei suru) for managing companies. Never 走る.
- Liquid running / flowing → 流れる (nagareru). ‘Water is running’ = 水が流れている. Never 水が走る.
- Running for office → 立候補する (rikkōho suru). ‘She’s running for mayor’ = 市長に立候補する.
- Running a program → 実行する (jikkō suru). ‘Run this script’ = このスクリプトを実行する.
Running idioms
走る appears in many figurative expressions beyond physical running:
- 電流が走る (denryū ga hashiru) — ‘electricity runs through’ — idiom for a sudden jolt, shiver, or thrill.
- 筆が走る (fude ga hashiru) — ‘the brush runs’ — to write fluently, words flowing easily.
- 悪に走る (aku ni hashiru) — ‘run to evil’ — to turn to crime/vice.
- 口が走る (kuchi ga hashiru) — ‘the mouth runs’ — to let something slip, speak carelessly.
Things that ‘run’ in Japanese but use other verbs
A sample of English ‘run X’ expressions that become completely different verbs in Japanese:
- My nose is running → 鼻水が出る (hanamizu ga deru, ‘nose-water comes out’). Not 流れる, not 走る.
- Run a fever → 熱がある (netsu ga aru, ‘have a fever’) or 熱が出る (netsu ga deru, ‘fever comes out’).
- Run a bath → お風呂を入れる (o-furo o ireru, ‘put in the bath’, i.e., fill it).
- Run out of X → 〜がなくなる (X ga naku naru, ‘X becomes gone’) or 〜を切らす (X o kirasu, ‘let X run out’).
- Run late → 遅れる (okureru, ‘be delayed’).
- Run an errand → 用事を済ませる (yōji o sumaseru, ‘finish an errand’).
There’s no single clever translation rule — each expression maps to its own Japanese pattern. Learners do best by memorizing the common patterns rather than trying to reason from ‘run’.
Physical running culture
Japan has a strong running culture — school marathons (校内マラソン), workplace running clubs, and world-class marathons (東京マラソン, 箱根駅伝 — the intercollegiate Hakone ekiden long-distance relay is a national New Year TV event). Useful running vocabulary:
- マラソン (marason) — marathon.
- 駅伝 (ekiden) — long-distance relay race. A uniquely Japanese institution.
- ランニング (ranningu) — ‘running’ (loanword). Often interchangeable with ジョギング in casual speech.
- 走行 (sōkō) — ‘running/traveling (of vehicles)’. 走行距離 = mileage.
A grammar note on 走る
走る is a godan verb (Group 1) ending in -る. Don’t conjugate it like an ichidan (Group 2) -る verb. Its conjugations:
- 走る (run) → 走らない (don’t run) → 走った (ran) → 走って (running, and) → 走れる (can run) → 走ろう (let’s run)
Beginners sometimes try 走ない or 走た — both wrong. Remember that -る can indicate either group, and 走る belongs to the -う-ending godan pattern.