草そう原げん

also: くさはら

そ

う

げ

ん

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

noun

grassy field; grassland; meadow

General term for an area covered with grass, from small meadows to large open fields. Used for both natural and cultivated grassy spaces.

子こ供どもたちは草そう原げんで走はしり回まわ

っ

て

い

た

。

The children were running around in the grassy field.

このあたりは広こう大だいな草そう原げんが広ひろがっている。

A vast grassland stretches out around here.

2

noun

grass-covered plain; savannah; prairie; steppe

Only with reading そうげん

Specifically for large, open grass-covered plains, often in geographical or ecological contexts. Restricted to the reading そうげん.

モンゴルの草そう原げんには遊ゆう牧ぼく民みんが住すんでいる。
Nomads live on the steppes of Mongolia.
アフリカのサバンナは草そう原げん地ち帯たいの一いっ種しゅだ。
The African savannah is a type of grassland region.

Usage patterns

草そう原げんが広ひろがるfor a grassland/plain to stretch out
山やまの向むこうには広ひろい草そう原げんが広ひろがっていた。
Beyond the mountains, a wide grassland stretched out.
草そう原げんを歩あるくto walk through a grassy field
子こ供どもたちは草そう原げんを歩あるきながら花はなを摘つんだ。
The children walked through the grassy field picking flowers.
草そう原げんで〈動どう物ぶつ〉が草くさを食たべるfor animals to graze in the grassland
草そう原げんで馬うまが草くさを食たべている。
Horses are grazing in the grassland.
一いち面めんの草そう原げんa vast, unbroken expanse of grassland
そこは一いち面めんの草そう原げんで、地ち平へい線せんまで見み渡わたせた。
It was one vast expanse of grassland, visible all the way to the horizon.

Kanji

草grass, weeds, herbs
原meadow, original, primitive

Related words· 6

野の原はらN1sense 1
野原 suggests an untended, wild open field, while 草原 emphasizes the grass cover itself and can include managed pastures.
牧ぼく草そう地ち sense 1
牧草地 specifically means pastureland kept for grazing livestock, whereas 草原 is the broader word for any grass-covered area.
平へい原げん sense 2
平原 describes a flat plain regardless of vegetation, while 草原 specifically highlights that the plain is covered in grass.
サバンナ sense 2
サバンナ refers specifically to tropical grassland with scattered trees, whereas 草原 is the general Japanese term for grass-covered plains anywhere.

Show 2 more

原はらっぱN1
草原 refers to a larger, more natural grassland or prairie, while 原っぱ suggests a smaller, everyday open space near where people live.
牧ぼく野や
草原 refers to natural grassland or prairie without implying livestock use, while 牧野 specifically denotes land used for grazing animals.

Opposites

森しん林りんN2sense 2
森林 is forested land dominated by trees, the opposite landscape type to open, grassy 草原.

Don't confuse with

高こう原げんN1
高原 (plateau/highland) shares the 原 kanji with 草原 but refers to elevated terrain, not specifically grass-covered land.

Word family

大だい草そう原げん
great plain; prairie; steppe; savanna; pampa · hahahaha; LMAO; ROFL
そうげんらいちょう
greater prairie chicken

Written forms

草原Usage98%
- そうげん
  Standard kanji spelling for the reading そうげん. High-frequency form in news and general use.
- くさはら
- くさわら
くさはら

Etymology

Compound of 草 (くさ, 'grass') and 原 (はら > げん, 'field, plain'). The reading そうげん is the Sino-Japanese on'yomi, while くさはら is the native Japanese kun'yomi reading.

Usage1%

Kana spelling for the reading くさはら, used when the kanji 草原 is read with this native-Japanese reading.

草くさはらUsage1%

search-only kanji form

Search-only kanji form; not a standard written variant. Included to aid dictionary lookups.

くさわら