旅行
りょこう
hepburn ryokou
travel, trip
Part of speech · noun / suru-verb
Pattern visualization
Examples
- 夏休みに京都へ旅行しました。I traveled to Kyoto over summer vacation.
- 海外旅行の準備をしています。I am preparing for overseas travel.
Collocations
旅行 (ryokou, travel)旅行する (ryokou suru, to travel)海外旅行 (kaigai ryokou, overseas travel)社員旅行 (shain ryokou, company trip)旅館 (ryokan, traditional inn)
Mnemonic
りょこう — 旅行, Sino-Japanese. Unpack the two kanji ── 旅 (journey) + 行 (to go) = 'to go on a journey'. A noun and a suru-verb. The same idea wears two coats, Sino and Yamato ── 旅行 ryokou (Sino-Japanese): the everyday, practical 'trip'. 旅 tabi (Yamato): the poetic, emotional 'journey'. 人生は旅 (life is a journey), 心の旅 (an inner journey) almost always take tabi. The same concept splits — onyomi for the businesslike, kunyomi for the lyrical ── two rhythms of Japanese vocabulary. 旅館 ryokan is a distinctly Japanese lodging ── a traditional inn bundling tatami, onsen, and kaiseki cuisine. A different category from the English hotel. The Korean readings yeo / haeng are sister to the onyomi りょ / こう.
Quick check
Word for "life is a journey" metaphor?