Shinrinyoku is the Japanese word for ‘forest bathing’, explained

What does “shinrinyoku” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers use shinrinyoku to mean ‘forest bathing’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I’m explaining this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’m explaining how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand shinrinyoku more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “shinrinyoku”
• Shinrinyoku in kanji
  • How to say “forest bathing” in Japanese
  • Another example of “shinrinyoku”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “shinrinyoku”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of shinrinyoku.

• shinrinyoku – 森林浴 (しんりんよく) : a noun used to mean ‘forest bathing’ in Japanese.

The definition and meaning are simple and clear. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji expression in detail.

Shinrinyoku in kanji

The kanji expression of shinrinyoku consists of the following two parts:

• shinrin – 森林 (しんりん) : a noun used to mean a ‘forest’ in Japanese.
• yoku – 浴 (よく) : can be considered as the noun form of the verb, yokusuru, which means ‘to bathe’ in Japanese.

From these two parts, we can understand that the formed noun literally means ‘forest bathing’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is completely in line with the actual meaning.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of shinrinyoku through the detailed kanji check above.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of shinrinyoku together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

How to say “forest bathing” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• nihonjin – 日本人 (にほんじん) : a noun used to mean a ‘Japanese person’ in Japanese. This can also be used as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after nihonjin to make the subject in the sentence.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after shinrinyoku to make the object in the sentence.
• suki – 好き (すき) : the stem part of the na-adjective, sukina, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. Native speakers, however, often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. In the example, this is used to mean ‘to love’ in Japanese.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after suki to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of shinrinyoku. In this example, it works together with the case particle, ga, to become the object in the sentence.

Another example of “shinrinyoku”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• tokuni – 特に (とくに) : an adverb used to mean ‘especially’ in Japanese.
• haru – 春 (はる) : a noun used to mean ‘spring’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join haru and shinrinyoku. The formed phrase literally means ‘forest bathing in spring’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is similar to those of some English prepositions.
• ii – 良い (いい) : an i-adjective used to mean ‘good’ in Japanese.

This is another example of shinrinyoku. In this example, it works together with haru and no to mean ‘forest bathing in spring’ in Japanese. When we want to mean ‘forest bathing’ in Japanese, anyway, this noun is always a very good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of shinrinyoku in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• shinrinyoku – 森林浴 (しんりんよく) : a noun used to mean ‘forest bathing’ in Japanese. These three kanji characters literally mean ‘forest bathing’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is completely in line with the actual meaning.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.