水車
also: みずぐるま
Meanings
water wheel
A wheel turned by flowing water, used historically for milling, irrigation, or power generation.
In the old village, they ground flour using a water wheel.
water turbine; hydraulic turbine
A modern device that converts the energy of flowing water into rotational motion, often for generating electricity. The reading すいしゃ is especially common for this sense.
Large water turbines are used at this power plant.
violent wielding of weapons
Only with reading みずぐるま
Archaic sense, restricted to the reading みずぐるま. Refers to swinging a weapon around wildly, like a water wheel spinning. Not used in modern Japanese.
In an old document, 水車 is annotated as describing the act of brandishing a sword.
Usage patterns
- 水車が回るthe water wheel turns/spins
The water wheel is slowly turning beside the river.
- 水車で〈物〉をひくto grind something using a water wheel
Long ago, wheat was ground here using this water wheel.
- 水車で発電するto generate electricity with a water turbine
This facility generates electricity using a water turbine.