What does “umi” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “umi” to mean ‘sea’ or ‘ocean’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word well as it is quite often used in Japanese movies, songs, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail with its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “umi” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “umi”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “umi”.
- umi – 海 (うみ) : a noun meaning ‘sea’ or ‘ocean’ in Japanese.
The definition and meanings are very simple and clear. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji character in detail. It consists of the two different parts. The left side expresses water; the right side expresses a dark color. So, this kanji character literally expresses dark colored water. This concept is not completely in line with the meanings, but still suitable for the deep area of the sea, I think.
Then, let me explain how to use “umi” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “the sea” in Japanese
watashi tachi wa kinou umi ni it ta – 私達は昨日海に行った (わたしたちはきのううみにいった)
We went to the sea yesterday.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its plural form, “watashi tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi tachi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- kinou – 昨日 (きのう) : a noun meaning ‘yesterday’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb. In the example, this works as an adverb to say “yesterday” in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “umi” to say where “watashi tachi” went yesterday.
- it – 行っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku”, which means ‘to go’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after the conjugated verb, “it”, to make its past tense form, “it ta”.
This is a typical usage of “umi”. In this example, it works together with “ni” to say “to the sea” in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of “ni” is very similar to that of the English preposition, “to”. When we want to say “sea” in Japanese, anyway, “umi” is a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “umi”
yoru no umi wa kirei desu ne – 夜の海は綺麗ですね (よるのうみはきれいですね)
The sea is beautiful at night, isn’t it?
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- yoru – 夜 (よる) : a noun meaning ‘night’ 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 “yoru” and “umi”. The formed phrase literally means ‘the night sea’ in Japanese, but has been translated as ‘the sea at night’ in this example.
- kirei – 綺麗 (きれい) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “kireina“, which means ‘beautiful’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- 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 “kirei” to make it sound polite.
- ne – ね : a sentence-ending particle often used to ask for agreement softly. The role of this particle is similar to those of English tag questions. In this example, actually, this has been translated as “isn’t it?”
This is another typical usage of “umi”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “yoru no umi”, which means ‘the sea at night’ in Japanese.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “umi” with its kanji character. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- umi – 海 (うみ) : a noun meaning ‘sea’ or ‘ocean’ in Japanese. The left part of this kanji character expresses water; the right side expresses a dark color. So, this kanji literally expresses a dark colored water in Japanese. This concept is not completely in line with the meanings, but still suitable for the deep area of the sea, I think. When we want to say “sea” or “ocean” in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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