The term yari (kanji: 槍) means "spear or lance" in English. It is written やり in hiragana. It's pronounced roughly like "yah-ree".
This can be translated as spear, lance, or even javelin. So, for example, the javelin throw is called yarinage (槍投げ). The Chinese reading of 槍 is so, and the technique of fighting with a spear is called sojutsu (槍術).
Yari were used as weapons, especially in the ancient days of Japan before katanaKATANA 刀 "sword" learn more... and other swords became the technology of choice.