散歩

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 毎朝、公園を散歩します。▶ —
   I take a walk in the park every morning.
2. 犬の散歩が日課です。▶ —
   Walking the dog is my daily routine.

Collocations

Mnemonic

さんぽ — 散歩, Sino-Japanese. Unpack the two kanji ── 散 (scatter) + 歩 (walk) = 'to walk as if scattering this way and that'. A walk with no destination. There is an N5 particle trap ── 公園を散歩する. Korean says 'walk in the park' with a locative; Japanese uses ~を, seeing it as 'walking across the space of the park'. The を of 散歩 is a を of passage. The kanji 歩 anchors a walking cluster ── 歩く aruku (to walk), 散歩 (a stroll), 徒歩 toho (on foot), 歩道 hodou (sidewalk). お散歩 o-sanpo (with the beautifier prefix お) is the warm form used for dog walks or walking a child. The Korean readings san / bo are sister to the onyomi さん / ぽ.

Quick check

1. Why does sanpo take wo, not de or ni?

   • Wo marks the park as a path-object being traversed
   • Bare locative
   • Goal / existence marker
   • Volition emphasis