湖
みずうみ
hepburn mizuumi
lake
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- 富士山の近くに大きな湖があります。There's a big lake near Mt. Fuji.
- 湖でカヌーをします。I canoe on the lake.
Collocations
湖 (mizuumi, lake)富士五湖 (Fuji goko, the five Fuji lakes)琵琶湖 (Biwa-ko, Lake Biwa)湖畔 (kohan, lakeside)湖底 (kotei, lake bottom)
Mnemonic
湖 mizuumi — kanji 氵 (water) + 古 (phono-semantic). Onyomi こ (ko), kun mizuumi. Same kanji takes mizuumi standalone, ko in compounds. Famous Japanese lakes: 琵琶湖 (Biwa-ko, Shiga, Japan's largest), 富士五湖 (Fuji Five Lakes), 阿寒湖 (Akan-ko, Hokkaido). The Fuji Five Lakes (Yamanaka, Kawaguchi, Sai, Shōji, Motosu) are volcanic lakes formed by Mt. Fuji eruptions — major foreign-tourist destinations. Studying the word doubles as Japanese geography, natural history, and tourism vocabulary. Onyomi こ thrives in academic terms: 湖畔 (kohan, lakeside), 湖水 (kosui, lake water).
Quick check
Name and location of Japan's largest lake?