How to say "kick" in Japanese

• 蹴るけるJLPT N2approx.Common
  godan verb, transitive verbThe verb for the physical act of kicking something with the foot or leg — a ball, a door, a person. When you want 'kick' as an action, this is the word you want.
  けってドアを開あけるな。↗

  Don't kick the door open.
• キックCommon
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbThe loanword noun for 'a kick' — the act or instance of kicking rather than the verb. Especially at home in sports talk such as soccer, where it names the kicking action itself.
• 反動はんどうCommon
  noun'Kick' here only in the sense of recoil: the backward jolt of a gun or a spring. It is not the act of kicking with a foot; its core senses are 'reaction' and 'backlash'.

Use 「蹴る」 for the physical act of kicking, 「キック」 for the noun 'a kick', especially in sports such as soccer, and 反動 only when 'kick' means recoil — the backward jolt of a gun or spring, never a foot.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 蹴るけるto kick
• キックkick
• 反動はんどうreaction
• 蹴りけりkick
• 蹴飛ばすけとばすto kick (hard)
• 足蹴あしげkick
• 蹴り入れるけりいれるto kick (into something, e.g. a goal)
• 蹴りつけるけりつけるto kick (out at)
• 足蹴にするあしげにするto kick
• 蹴りを入れるけりをいれるto kick (esp. with force)
• こすみつけkick
• こすみつけるto kick
• 上げ底あげぞこfalse bottom
• ビートkick (in swimming)
• しばくto hit