滝たき川がわ

た

き

が

わ

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

rapids; torrent; fast-flowing river

A relatively uncommon or literary noun for a steep, violently flowing stream or rapids, literally suggestive of a river flowing like a waterfall. In everyday wording, 急流 or 早瀬 is usually clearer.

「滝たき川がわ」は、滝たきのように激はげしく流ながれる川かわや急きゅう流りゅうを指さす語ごだ。
滝川 is a word for a river or rapid current flowing violently like a waterfall.

Usage patterns

滝たき川がわを下くだるto go down/navigate the rapids
船ふねで滝たき川がわを下くだるのは危き険けんだ。
Going down the rapids by boat is dangerous.

Kanji

滝waterfall, rapids, cascade
川stream, river, river or three-stroke river radical (no. 47)

Related words

急きゅう流りゅう
急流 is the common, everyday word for a fast-flowing current, while 滝川 is a rarer, more literary term evoking a waterfall-like torrent.
早はや瀬せ
早瀬 specifically describes a shallow, swift-running stretch of a river and is more commonly used than the literary 滝川.
激げき流りゅう
激流 emphasizes the violent power of a current, whereas 滝川 focuses on its waterfall-like, cascading flow and is more poetic in tone.

Don't confuse with

滝たきN3
滝 means a waterfall itself, while 滝川 refers to a fast, cascading river or rapids that merely resembles one.

Built from

滝たき+川かわ

Etymology

A transparent compound of 滝, 'waterfall', and 川, 'river'. The spelling conventionally describes a river or current flowing violently like a waterfall; no more specific historical derivation is supplied.