棒(ぼう)

ぼう

noun

stick, pole, rod

1. stick, pole, rod

A long, thin piece of wood or other material.

棒(ぼう)を持(も)つ。

To hold a stick.

I drew a line on the ground with a stick.

To hang from an iron bar.

The child is playing by swinging a stick around.

I ended up wasting all my hard work.

棒(ぼう)に振(ふ)る = to waste, throw away

2. bar, stroke

A straight line drawn on paper.

棒(ぼう)を引(ひ)く。

To draw a line.

To make a bar graph.

I crossed out the name by drawing a line over it.

I said the lines in a monotone.

棒読(ぼうよ)み = flat, monotone reading

I drew a graph that shows the comparison using red and blue bars.

A basic word with many compound uses.

COMMON COMPOUNDS:

IDIOMS:

棒(ぼう)に振(ふ)る (to waste something - effort, money)
犬(いぬ)も歩(ある)けば棒(ぼう)に当(あ)たる (A dog that walks will bump into a stick - you'll encounter fortune/misfortune if you go out)

core

Added 2026.1.12 21:24 · Revised 2026.6.13 3:24

03500/03726_bou