River in Japanese: kawa, explained with its two kanji expressions

How to say “river” in Japanese

Japanese people would say “kawa”. It is the Japanese word for ‘river’. Very simple, I think. Yet, it has two different kanji expressions. In this blog post, therefore, I will explain this word based on its two kanji expressions. And also, I will explain how they are different. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “kawa”
• Example #1: how to say “small river” in Japanese
• Example #2: another usage of “kawa”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “kawa”

Below are the definition and meaning of “kawa”.

• kawa – 川/河 (かわ) : a noun meaning ‘river’ in Japanese. It can also be used as a plural noun meaning ‘rivers’. Learn more about Japanese plural.

Both kanji expressions can be used to mean ‘river’ or ‘rivers’ in Japanese. However, their usages are a bit different. Japanese people tend to use the first kanji expression to mean small rivers; they use the second expression to mean wider rivers. The first kanji was created from the shape of a small river. Its three stokes express the flows of water. On the other hand, the second kanji was used as a proper noun to mean the second longest river in China, the Yellow River. For these different origins, the two kanji expressions are still used differently even today.

Then, let me explain how to use “kawa” through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “small river” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• yama – 山 (やま) : a noun meaning ‘mountain’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used to limit the meaning of the following word with the meaning of the preceding word based on relations like possessing and belonging. In the example, it is used to limit the meaning of “fumoto” with the meaning of “yama”. The formed phrase, “yama no fumoto”, can literally be translated as ‘the foot of a mountain’. Although word orders in Japanese and English are different, the role of “no” is quite similar to that of the English preposition, “of”.
• fumoto – 麓 (ふもと) : a noun meaning ‘foot (of a mountain)’.
• ni – に : a case particle used to indicate a particular place in which someone or something is. In the example, it is put after the noun phrase, “yama no fumoto”, to indicate the particular place where the river is.
• chiisai – 小さい (ちいさい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘small’ in Japanese. In the example, it is used as a modifier to describe the following noun, “kawa”.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is put after the noun phrase, “chiisai kawa”, to make the subject word in the sentence.
• aru – ある : a verb used to express the existence of something. In the example, it is used to express the existence of the river. It is often translated as ‘to be’, ‘to exist’, or such.

This is a typical usage of “kawa”. When we want to say “river” in Japanese, it would be the best choice in most cases. In this example, it is written as “川”, as it is preceded by the i-adjective, “chiisai”. The formed phrase has been translated as “a small river”.

Example #2: another usage of “kawa”

Below are the new words and particle used in the example sentence.

• ōkii – 大きい (おおきい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘big’ in Japanese.
• ga – が : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, it is put after the noun phrase, “ōkii kawa”, to make the subject word in the sentence.
• nagare – 流れ (ながれ) : one conjugation of the verb, “nagareru”, which means ‘to flow’ in Japanese. It has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle put after a verb or adjective to make its te form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “nagare”, to make its te form, “nagare te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “iru”.
• iru – いる : an auxiliary verb used to express the continuity of the action described by the preceding verb. In the example, it is put after the te-formed verb, “nagare te”, to express the continuity of its action, ‘to flow’.

This is another typical usage of “kawa”. In this example, it is preceded by the i-adjective, “ōkii”, meaning ‘big’ in Japanese. So, it is written as “河”.

“Kawa ga nagareru” is a widely-used expression meaning ‘a river flows’ in Japanese. In this example, this expression is used with its verb part conjugated.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “kawa” with its two different kanji expressions. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• kawa – 川/河 (かわ) : a noun meaning ‘river’ in Japanese. It can also be used as a plural noun meaning ‘rivers’. Japanese people tend to use the first kanji expression to mean small rivers; they use the second expression to mean wider rivers.
• kawa ga nagareru – 川/河が流れる (かわがながれる) : a widely-used expression meaning ‘a river flows’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.