move

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 動 means movement; its on-reading is どう, and its kun-readings include うごく and うごかす.
• Basic usage: 動く describes moving, while 運動 refers to exercise or movement.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Intransitive and transitive
  • 人形が動く means that a doll moves, while 人形を動かす means that someone moves a doll. Distinguish what moves from the person causing it to move.
• Exercise as an activity
  • 運動する describes exercising. A simple change of position, such as a cloud's shadow moving, is described with 動く.