水 – Water in Japanese, Describing Water in Nature
Water is everywhere and comes in many forms. You find water in the ocean, or water in your cup, or water as rain. Here is a few words for water in Japanese when you find it in nature.
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Bodies of water
There are several different names for bodies of water based on their size. Here are some words for bodies of water from the smallest to biggest:
- 水たまり – Puddle
- 池 – Pond
- 沢 – Swamp
- 湖 – Lake
- 海 – Sea, Ocean
The word 海 can mean sea or ocean. The word ocean specifically though has several different words to refer to it in Japanese.
Rivers and Streams
Rivers and streams are also bodies of water but are flowing with a starting and finishing point. In Japanese the word for river is 川. If you want to talk about a big river though you could say 大川. Or, for a small river, you can say 小川 or even せせらぎ for a creek.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/Other Natural Forms of Water
Other than rivers and lakes there are other natural forms of water in nature.
- 滝 – Waterfall
- 泉 – Spring
- 波 – Wave
- 渦 – Whirlpool
- 雨 – Rain
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