北ほっ海かい道どう

ほ

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Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

Meanings

1

noun

Hokkaido

Refers to Japan's northernmost main island and the prefectural-level administrative unit that covers it.

北ほっ海かい道どうは冬ふゆに雪ゆきがたくさん降ふります。
Hokkaido gets a lot of snow in winter.

来らい月げつ、北ほっ海かい道どうへ旅りょ行こうに行いく予よ定ていです。

I plan to travel to Hokkaido next month.

Kanji

北north
海sea, ocean
道road-way, street, district

Related words

北ほっ海かい
北海道 is the full official name of the island/prefecture, while 北海 is an abbreviation used mainly in compound words like 北海タイムス.

Don't confuse with

九きゅう州しゅう
九州 is Japan's southernmost main island while 北海道 is the northernmost, and beginners sometimes confuse them when memorizing Japan's four main islands.

Word family

北ほっ海かい道どう人じん
person from Hokkaido; Hokkaido native
北ほっ海かい道どう弁べん
Hokkaido dialect
北ほっ海かい道どう方ほう言げん
Hokkaido dialect

Written forms

北ほっ海かい道どうUsage100%
Standard kanji spelling for the prefecture and island.
ホッカイドウUsage<1%

Etymology

The name 北海道 (Hokkaidō) was officially adopted in 1869, combining 北 (north), 海 (sea), and 道 (circuit, administrative region), following the traditional regional naming pattern used for the old provinces.