南
みなみ
hepburn minami
south
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
Examples
- 沖縄は日本の南にあります。Okinawa is in the south of Japan.
- 南向きの部屋は明るいです。A south-facing room is bright.
Collocations
南 (minami, south)南口 (minamiguchi, south exit)南向き (minamimuki, south-facing)南極 (nankyoku, South Pole)東南アジア (Tounan Ajia, Southeast Asia)
Mnemonic
南 minami — onyomi なん (nan): 南極 (nankyoku, South Pole), 南部 (nanbu, south region), 東南 (tounan, southeast). In Japanese real estate, 南向き (minamimuki, south-facing) is premium — sunlight, warmth, clothes dry well. The metaphor of southern brightness is locked into the rental market vocabulary. The kanji 南 originally pictured an inverted bell-shaped instrument used to face the south for ritual music — the "ritual direction" became the directional word.
Quick check
Why is 南向き a real-estate premium in Japan?