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湾 (わん, wan) Japanese meaning: bay | Kotomora

湾わん

わ

ん

Common word›JLPTN3›Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

1

noun, noun, used as a suffix

bay; gulf; inlet

Refers to a body of water partly enclosed by land but connected to a larger body of water. Also used as a suffix in proper nouns (e.g., 東京湾).

この湾わんは波

なみ

が

静しず

か

で

、

釣つ

り

に

最さい

適てき

だ

。

This bay has calm waves and is perfect for fishing.

東とう京きょう湾わんにはたくさんの船ふねが行いき交かっている。

Many ships come and go in Tokyo Bay.

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉が湾わんに面めんするfor a place to face/border a bay
この町まちは美うつくしい湾わんに面めんしている。
This town faces a beautiful bay.
湾わんを渡わたるto cross a bay
船ふねで湾わんを渡わたって対たい岸がんの港みなとに着ついた。
We crossed the bay by boat and arrived at the port on the other side.
湾わんを一いち望ぼうするto have a panoramic view of the bay
展てん望ぼう台だいからは湾わんを一いち望ぼうできる。
You can get a panoramic view of the bay from the observation deck.

Kanji

湾gulf, bay, inlet

Related words

入いり江え
入り江 is a smaller, often narrower inlet, while 湾 is the broader term for a bay or gulf.
ベイ
湾 is the standard native Japanese term for a bay used in formal and geographic contexts, while ベイ is a katakana loanword mostly seen in place names or casual usage like ベイエリア.
浦うら
湾 refers to a larger bay or gulf, while 浦 is a smaller, more sheltered inlet, often with a traditional or poetic feel.
内ない海かい
湾 means a bay or gulf and often refers to a larger coastal indentation, while 内海 stresses that the water is largely enclosed by surrounding land.
江え
湾 is the standard geographical term for a bay or gulf, typically larger in scale than the small, literary 江.

Opposites

半はん島とうN2
半島 is a landform that projects out into the sea, whereas 湾 is a body of water indented into the land, making them geographic opposites.
岬みさきN2
岬 is land projecting outward into the water, whereas 湾 is a bay where the coastline curves inward.

Don't confuse with

海かい峡きょうN1
海峡 is a strait connecting two larger bodies of water, while 湾 is a coastal indentation enclosed on most sides by land, so learners often confuse the two coastal terms.
港こう湾わん
湾 means a bay or gulf (a geographic inlet), whereas 港湾 refers specifically to a developed harbour or port facility, not just the shape of the coastline.

Word family· 18

湾わん岸がん
gulf coast; bay coast
港こう湾わん
harbour; harbor; port
湾わん曲きょく
curve; bend; crook
湾わん内ない
inside the bay

Written forms

湾わんUsage98%
Standard kanji form; high-frequency in news and general use.
わんUsage2%

Etymology

The kanji 湾 is a phono-semantic compound with 氵 (water) and 彎 (bend, curve), reflecting the meaning of a curved body of water. The reading わん is the on'yomi.

内ない湾わん

enclosed bay; inlet; deep bay; basin

Show 9 more

岬こう湾わん
capes and bays; coastal indentation
峡きょう湾わん
fjord
海かい湾わん
gulf; bay
湾わん入にゅう
embayment; indentation of a shoreline
湾わん口こう
entrance to a bay; mouth of a bay
湾わん外がい
outside the bay; beyond the bay
湾わん流りゅう
the Gulf Stream
湾わん頭とう
bay shore; shore of a bay
側そく弯わん症しょう
scoliosis

See all 18 in Explore →