流りゅう星せい

りゅ

う

せ

い

Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

A small body from space that burns up upon entering the Earth's atmosphere, producing a streak of light. Common in both scientific and everyday contexts.

昨さく夜や、流りゅう星せいを一ひとつ見みました。
I saw a shooting star last night.
流りゅう星せい群ぐんがピークを迎むかえるのは今こん夜やです。
The meteor shower peaks tonight.

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Usage patterns

流りゅう星せいが流ながれるa shooting star streaks across the sky
夜よ空ぞらに流りゅう星せいが流ながれた。
A shooting star streaked across the night sky.
流りゅう星せいが見みえるto be able to see a shooting star
山やまの上うえでは流りゅう星せいがよく見みえる。
You can see shooting stars well from up on the mountain.
流りゅう星せいに願ねがいをかけるto make a wish on a shooting star
流りゅう星せいに願ねがいをかけると夢ゆめが叶かなうと言いわれている。
It's said that if you make a wish on a shooting star, your dream will come true.

Kanji

流current, a sink, flow
星star, spot, dot

Related words

流ながれ星ぼし
流れ星 is the everyday, poetic word for a shooting star, while 流星 is the more formal, scientific term for the same phenomenon.

Don't confuse with

隕いん石せき
隕石 is a meteorite that actually reaches the ground, whereas 流星 is only the streak of light seen as it burns up in the atmosphere.
彗すい星せい
流星 is a meteor or shooting star, a brief streak of light in the atmosphere, while 彗星 is a comet, a body that orbits the Sun and can develop a coma or tail.

Word family

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 流星 (liúxīng), literally 'flowing star'. The Japanese reading りゅうせい is the Sino-Japanese on'yomi.