Meaning

Primary

To Advance

Alternatives

To Go Forward, To Progress

Word Type

intransitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means advance so the verb vocab version means to advance.

This is an intransitive verb, meaning that it is about something or someone advancing forward.

Reading

すすむ
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

In order to advance, you must sue Sue for her misdeeds against you. Imagine her standing in your way, literally. She keeps saying, "You'll have to sue me if you want to get past me!" So you do. You sue Sue. Now tell her to move ().

Context

Patterns of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 先に進む

    to advance ahead

    この方向に進む

    to advance in this direction

    前に進む

    to advance forwards

Context Sentences

もう少し前に進んで下さい。

Please move a little more forward.

プロジェクトは進んでますか?

Is the project moving forward?

アクセルをふんでるのに、なぜか車が進みません。

The car does not go forward for some reason, even though I'm stepping on the gas pedal.

Kanji Composition