岬みさき

み

さ

き

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

noun

cape; headland; promontory

A piece of land projecting into the sea or a lake. Common in geography and place names.

この岬みさきからは海うみが一いち望ぼうできる。

From this cape, you can see the whole ocean.

岬みさきの先せん端たんに灯とう台だいが立たっている。

A lighthouse stands at the tip of the cape.

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉の岬みさきを回まわるto sail around a cape
船ふねはその岬みさきを回まわって港みなとに向むかった。
The ship went around the cape toward the harbor.
岬みさきに立たつto stand on a cape
彼かの女じょは岬みさきに立たって海うみを見みつめていた。
She stood on the cape, gazing at the sea.
岬みさきから〈物もの〉を眺ながめるto view something from a cape
岬みさきから夕ゆう日ひを眺ながめるのが好すきだ。
I love watching the sunset from the cape.

Kanji

岬headland, cape, spit
崎promontory, cape, spit

Related words

崎さき
崎 and 岬 both mean a small point of land jutting into the sea, but 崎 appears mostly in place names while 岬 is the general dictionary word for the landform.

Opposites

湾わんN3
岬 is land projecting outward into the water, whereas 湾 is a bay where the coastline curves inward.

Don't confuse with

半はん島とうN2
岬 is a small, pointed piece of land sticking into the sea, while 半島 is a much larger landmass surrounded by water on three sides.

Written forms

岬みさきUsage88%
Standard kanji spelling; the most common way to write 'cape'.
みさきUsage12%
崎みさき
Alternate kanji form, less common than 岬. Often appears in proper nouns (e.g., 長崎).

Etymology

The kanji 岬 is composed of 山 (mountain) and 甲 (shell/armor), suggesting a mountain-like projection into the sea. The reading みさき is a native Japanese word (kun'yomi).