沼 (ぬま) Japanese meaning

沼 (ぬま) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

Kanji

沼marsh, lake, bog

Related words· 7

池いけN5sense 1
池 refers to a clearer, more contained body of water like a pond, while 沼 suggests a marshy, vegetation-choked area with indistinct edges.
中ちゅう毒どくN1sense 2
中毒 describes a strong, often harmful addiction (e.g. to drugs or gambling), while slang 沼 is lighter, used for being happily hooked on a hobby or fandom.
湿しっ地ち sense 1
湿地 is the formal, technical term for wetland used in geography or ecology, whereas 沼 is the everyday word for a swamp or marsh.
泥どろ沼ぬま
沼 is the plain, general word for a swamp or pond, while 泥沼 stresses the mud and the difficulty of getting out, both literally and figuratively.

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湖こ沼しょう
沼 denotes one marsh or swamp, while 湖沼 groups marshes together with lakes as a single geographic category.
沼しょう沢たく
沼 refers to a single pond or small body of muddy water, whereas 沼沢 denotes a larger, extended marshland area.
湖みずうみN4
沼 describes a swamp or marsh that is shallower and more vegetated than a 湖, which is a deeper, open body of water.

Don't confuse with

池ち沼しょう
池沼 looks like a simple compound meaning 'ponds and marshes' but has become a derogatory slur online, unlike the neutral geographical word 沼.
沼ぬま地ち
沼 is a single swamp or pond, while 沼地 is the broader area of land characterized by such swamps.
沢さわ
沼 refers specifically to a pond or marsh with standing water, while 沢 (in its swamp sense) is a broader, less common term for wetlands that also has a distinct 'mountain stream' meaning.

Word family· 19

泥どろ沼ぬま
bog; marsh; swamp · quagmire; morass; dire situation
沼ぬま田た
deep-mud paddy
沼ぬま地ち
marshland; wetland; swampland
沼ぬまる
get hooked on; become obsessed with · be stuck in a slump; struggle to progress

Written forms

沼ぬまUsage96%
Standard kanji spelling for all senses.
ぬまUsage2%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing, especially for slang senses.
ヌマUsage1%

Etymology

The kanji 沼 has meant 'marsh' or 'swamp' since Old Japanese. The slang senses (obsession, ugly man, retard) are modern extensions, with the 'obsession' sense likening a deep interest to being stuck in a swamp, and the derogatory senses arising from internet slang abbreviations.

沼ぬま

Meanings

Usage patterns