衛えい星せい

え

い

せ

い

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

natural satellite; moon

Astronomical term for a celestial body orbiting a planet; includes moons of other planets.

えい

星せい

が

ある

。

Jupiter has many moons.

月つきは地ち球きゅうの唯ゆい一いつの自し然ぜん衛えい星せいだ。

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite.

2

artificial satellite

abbreviation

Abbreviation of 人工衛星; commonly used for man-made satellites in news and everyday contexts.

〈物もの〉の衛えい星せいthe moon(s) of (a planet)
木もく星せいには多おおくの衛えい星せいがある。
Jupiter has many moons.
衛えい星せいを打うち上あげるto launch a satellite
ロケットで衛えい星せいを打うち上あげる。
They launch a satellite by rocket.
衛えい星せいが〈場ば所しょ〉を回まわるfor a satellite to orbit (a place)
衛えい星せいは地ち球きゅうの周まわりを回まわっている。
The satellite orbits the Earth.

人じん工こう衛えい星せいN1sense 2
人工衛星 is the full, unambiguous term for a man-made satellite, while 衛星 is the common everyday abbreviation used in news and casual speech.
月つきN5sense 1
月 refers specifically to Earth's moon, whereas 衛星 is the broader astronomical term covering any natural satellite orbiting any planet.
サテライト
衛星 is the standard Japanese term covering both natural moons and artificial satellites, while サテライト is a loanword mostly used in compound names or media contexts.

恒こう星せい
衛星 (satellite/moon) orbits a planet, unlike 恒星 which is a self-luminous star at the center of a system; learners sometimes confuse the two due to the shared 星 character.
惑わく星せいN1
衛星 is a moon or satellite that orbits a 惑星, not the planet itself.

個こN5
counter for small objects; counter for pieces · counter for military units · individual; one person · counter for years of age difference; counter for school years

From 衛 (guard, protect) + 星 (star), a Meiji-era coinage for 'satellite' based on the idea of a star that guards a planet.

satellite link

manned satellite; manned orbiter

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