泳ぐ

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 海で泳ぎたい。▶ —
   I want to swim in the sea.
2. 夏休みは毎日泳ぐ。▶ —
   I swim every day during summer break.

Collocations

Mnemonic

およぐ — 泳ぐ, Yamato. A godan -gu verb. The kanji 泳 is 氵 (water) + 永 (long, eternal) = 'to move at length through water'. The radical itself names the motion. In the onyomi えい ei, it builds school and sport vocabulary ── 水泳 suiei (swimming), 競泳 kyouei (competitive swimming), 遊泳 yuuei (recreational swim). The Korean reading yeong is sister to the onyomi えい. Japan's swimming culture ── 海水浴 kaisuiyoku (sea bathing): July–August at Shounan, Enoshima, Okinawa. A summer family ritual. 水泳教室 suiei kyoushitsu: almost every Japanese child between six and twelve attends; swimming is part of compulsory school education. Crawl, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly — all four strokes are taught formally in school PE. You meet 泳 again in Mandarin Roots.

Quick check

1. Suiei kyoushitsu adoption?

   • Almost every Japanese child age 6-12 attends; swimming sits in compulsory education with nationwide certification
   • Elite only
   • Western import
   • Abolished