What's the difference between 上る、登る and 昇る?


According to jisho.org, they all have the same meanings, to climb, to rise, to
ascend. Is that true? And do they have differences in usage?




They do have differences in usage. I've gathered a few examples that, I hope,
differentiate the meanings. First, I'll try to put them in English:

  * 上る Go up
  * 登る Climb
  * 昇る Ascend / rise

But I don't know how helpful that is. Certainly there isn't a one-to-one
mapping between those English words and those ways of writing のぼる. I think
you'll get a better sense of what each one means if you look at how they're
used:

## 上る Go up

  * 川{かわ}を[上]{のぼ}る go up the river
  * 階段{かいだん}を[上]{のぼ}る go up the stairs

## 登る Climb

  * 山{やま}に[登]{のぼ}る climb a mountain
  * ロープで[登]{のぼ}る climb a rope
  * 木{き}に[登]{のぼ}る climb a tree

## 昇る Ascend, rise

  * 日{ひ}が[昇]{のぼ}る the sun rises
  * 天{てん}に[昇]{のぼ}る rise into heaven

For more examples, see the following links:

  * [Entry for のぼる in the New Century Waei Jiten](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?p=%E3%81%AE%E3%81%BC%E3%82%8B&stype=0&dtype=3&dname=2ss)
  * [Entry for のぼる in the Progressive Waei Chū Jiten](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?p=%E3%81%AE%E3%81%BC%E3%82%8B&stype=0&dtype=3)
  * [登る、昇る、上る at kanpyo.net](http://www.kanpyo.net/xwords+entry.entryID+4438+categoryID+2.htm)




They do have differences in usage. I've gathered a few examples that, I hope,
differentiate the meanings. First, I'll try to put them in English:

  * 上る Go up
  * 登る Climb
  * 昇る Ascend / rise

But I don't know how helpful that is. Certainly there isn't a one-to-one
mapping between those English words and those ways of writing のぼる. I think
you'll get a better sense of what each one means if you look at how they're
used:

## 上る Go up

  * 川{かわ}を[上]{のぼ}る go up the river
  * 階段{かいだん}を[上]{のぼ}る go up the stairs

## 登る Climb

  * 山{やま}に[登]{のぼ}る climb a mountain
  * ロープで[登]{のぼ}る climb a rope
  * 木{き}に[登]{のぼ}る climb a tree

## 昇る Ascend, rise

  * 日{ひ}が[昇]{のぼ}る the sun rises
  * 天{てん}に[昇]{のぼ}る rise into heaven

For more examples, see the following links:

  * [Entry for のぼる in the New Century Waei Jiten](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?p=%E3%81%AE%E3%81%BC%E3%82%8B&stype=0&dtype=3&dname=2ss)
  * [Entry for のぼる in the Progressive Waei Chū Jiten](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?p=%E3%81%AE%E3%81%BC%E3%82%8B&stype=0&dtype=3)
  * [登る、昇る、上る at kanpyo.net](http://www.kanpyo.net/xwords+entry.entryID+4438+categoryID+2.htm)

