How to say “travel” in Japanese
Japanese people say “ryokou” to mean ‘travel’ or ‘trip’ in Japanese. In this blog post, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how it is different from its similar word, “tabi”. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “ryokou” and “tabi” more properly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “ryokou”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “ryokou”.
- ryokou – 旅行 (りょこう) : a noun meaning ‘travel’ or ‘trip’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.
The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
“Ryokou” in kanji
The kanji expression of “ryokou” consists of the following two characters:
- 旅 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘travel’, ‘trip’, or ‘journey’.
- 行 : a kanji character used to express the act of going or visiting.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “ryokou” literally means ‘travel to go’. This kanji concept seems to be in line with the meanings.
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 meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “ryokou” through the detailed kanji check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “ryokou” through the example sentence below.
Example #1: how to say “love traveling” in Japanese
watashi wa ryokou ga suki desu – 私は旅行が好きです (わたしはりょこうがすきです)
I love traveling.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make the subject word 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 “ryokou” to make the object word in the sentence.
- suki – 好き (すき) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. In reality, however, this can work like an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. In the example, actually, this works to mean ‘to love’.
- 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 “ryokou”. In the example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “ryokou ga suki”. The original nuance of this expression is more like ‘to love travel’, but normally translated into English as ‘to love traveling’. Anyway, when we want to say “travel” in Japanese, “ryokou” is a very good option.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “ryokou” and how to use it. Next, let me explain the similar word: “tabi”.
Definition and meanings of “tabi”
Below are the definition and meanings of “tabi”.
- tabi – 旅 (たび) : a noun meaning ‘journey’, ‘tour’, ‘travel’, or ‘trip’ in Japanese.
The definition and meanings are basically the same as those of “ryokou”. In reality, however, Japanese native speakers use this word to refer to a trip or travel over a long distance. Sometimes, they use it to mean even a life-long process. So, “ryokou” and “tabi” are different. “Ryokou” just refers to travel or trips; “tabi” can be more conceptual. I believe that their difference is quite similar to the difference between the English words, “trip” and “journey”.
Then, let me explain how to use “tabi” through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to say “to embark on a journey” in Japanese
kare wa tabi ni deru – 彼は旅に出る (かれはたびにでる)
He will embark on a journey.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say in which direction someone or something goes. Based on this concept, this can also work to indicate the purpose of an action. In the example, this is used after “tabi” to indicate the purpose of the action described by “deru”.
- deru – 出る (でる) : a verb meaning ‘to go out’ in Japanese. In the example, this works as a part of the expression, “tabi ni deru”, which means ‘to embark on a journey’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “tabi”. In the example, it works as a part of the expression, “tabi ni deru”, which means ‘to embark on a journey’ in Japanese. The original nuance of this expression is more like ‘to go out on a journey’, but it has been translated as ‘to embark on a journey’ in this example. It is a kind of idiomatic expression.
Due to the nuance of “tabi”, we can understand that his journey will take a long time. When we want to imply that a trip takes a longer time than usual, “tabi” is a very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the word, “ryokou”, in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how it is different from the similar word, “tabi”. Let me summarize them as follows.
- ryokou – 旅行 (りょこう) : a noun meaning ‘travel’ or ‘trip’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘travel to go’. This is the basic concept lying under the meanings.
- tabi – 旅 (たび) : a noun meaning ‘journey’, ‘tour’, ‘travel’, or ‘trip’ in Japanese. Normally, it refers to a trip over a long distance. Sometimes, it can refer to even a life-long process. So, the difference between “ryokou” and “tabi” is quite similar to the difference between “trip” and “journey”.
- tabi ni dru – 旅に出る (たびにでる) : a Japanese expression for ‘to embark on a journey’.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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