Naruto (ナルト)
俺は火影になるってばよ！
Ore wa Hokage ni naru tteba yo!
“I'm gonna be Hokage, believe it!”
— Naruto Uzumaki
Answer both practice questions correctly to complete this line.
Not yetThe scene
Young Naruto, the village outcast, announces his dream to become Hokage — the leader of his village — to anyone who will listen. The English dub famously translated his verbal tic as 'Believe it!', and a generation of fans grew up hearing it.
Word by word
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 火影 | Hokage | 'Fire Shadow' — the title of the Hidden Leaf Village's leader |
| に | ni | particle marking the goal of becoming |
| なる | naru | to become |
| ってばよ | tteba yo | Naruto's emphatic tic: 'I'm telling you!' / 'believe it!' |
Grammar notes
〜ってば: insisting
ってば is a contraction people use when insisting on something the listener doubts: 本当だってば ('It's true, I tell you!'). Naruto just bolts よ onto it and uses it constantly, doubters or not.
Same になる pattern as Luffy
Compare this with the One Piece line: 海賊王になる / 火影になる. Same grammar, same vow energy — shonen heroes declare dreams with に + なる.
Can you say this in real life?
ってばよ (tteba yo) exists only in Naruto's mouth — it is a made-for-the-character tic, and using it in real conversation marks you instantly as a fan doing an impression. The rest of the sentence, though, is perfectly normal Japanese.
Practice
Q1. What is a Hokage?
Q2. Naruto's signature verbal tic is:
Read & Watch Naruto
The best way to enjoy this line in the wild is to meet it in the original work. Official places to read and watch Naruto will be listed here.
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