船ふな便びん

also: せんびん

ふ

な

び

ん

Common wordJLPTN4Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

surface mail; sea mail

Refers to postal items sent by ship, as opposed to airmail. Common in contexts of international shipping.

ferry service; steamer service

Refers to a regular shipping or ferry line, often for passengers or cargo. Less common than the postal sense.

〈物もの〉を船ふな便びんで送おくるto send something by sea mail
大おおきな荷に物もつなので船便、ふなびんで送おくることにした。
Since it was a large package, I decided to send it by sea mail.
船ふな便びんで〈場ば所しょ〉へ渡わたるto cross to a place by ferry
島しままで船ふな便びんで渡わたることができる。
You can get to the island by ferry.
船ふな便びんを利り用ようするto use surface (sea) mail service
費ひ用ようを抑おさえるために船便、ふなびんを利り用ようした。
I used sea mail to keep the cost down.

フェリーN1sense 2
船便 in its shipping-line sense is a formal term for a ferry or steamer service, while フェリー is the everyday loanword for the same kind of boat.
定てい期き船せん sense 2
定期船 specifically means a ship that runs on a fixed schedule, while 船便 more broadly refers to any ferry or steamer service.
海かい運うんN1
海運 refers to the shipping industry as a whole, while 船便 specifically means sending something by sea mail or cargo, a narrower everyday usage.

航こう空くう便びんN4sense 1
船便 refers to sea mail, which is cheaper but slower, while 航空便 is airmail, which is faster but more expensive.
エアメールN1
船便 is surface mail sent by ship, which is slower and cheaper, whereas エアメール is sent by plane and arrives faster.

船便Usage100%
- ふなびん
  Standard kanji spelling; the reading ふなびん is the most common.
- せんびん
  Alternate reading; less common and may be encountered in older or formal contexts.
せんびん

Compound of 船 (ふな, 'ship') and 便 (びん, 'mail' or 'service'). The reading ふなびん is a standard kun'yomi-on'yomi combination.