Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
天の川 (あまのがわ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word JLPT N1 Freq. Frequency Top 50,000 Meanings 1
noun
Milky Way
astronomy
The galaxy that contains our solar system, visible as a broad band of light across the night sky. In Japanese culture, it is also associated with the Tanabata legend.
天あま
の
川がわ
銀ぎん
河が
は
、
私わたし
たち
の
太たい
陽よう
系けい
を
含ふく
む
銀ぎん
河が
です
。
The Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that contains our solar system.
Written forms 天の川 Usage 97% i Usage for this spelling across all readings, not one reading alone.
天の河 Usage 3% i Usage for this spelling across all readings, not one reading alone.
あまのかわ
Kanji 川 stream, river, river or three-stroke river radical (no. 47) Similar words 銀ぎん 河が 銀河 is a general term for 'galaxy', while 天の川 specifically refers to the Milky Way, our own galaxy, often in a poetic or observational context.
Etymology Literally 'river of heaven', from 天 (ama, 'heaven') + の (no, possessive particle) + 川 (kawa, 'river'). The reading あまのがわ is a compound with rendaku (sequential voicing) of かわ to がわ. The alternate reading あまのかわ is obsolete.
