Wave in Japanese: nami, explained based on its kanji

How to say “wave” in Japanese?

Native speakers say “nami” to mean ‘wave’ in Japanese. Very simple, I think. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “nami” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “nami”
• “Nami” in kanji
  • Example #1: how to say “waves” in Japanese
  • Example #2: another usage of “nami”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “nami”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “nami”.

• nami – 波 (なみ) : a noun meaning ‘wave’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.

Japanese people normally use this noun to refer to waves. In addition to this basic usage, they sometimes use it as a metaphor for trends, activities, or even moods. Knowing this usage would help Japanese learners to better understand real Japanese conversations, I think.

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

“Nami” in kanji

The kanji character of “nami” consists of the following two components:

• 氵 : a kanji radical widely used to express water.
• 皮 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘skin’.

From these two components, we can understand that the kanji character of “nami” literally means ‘water skin’. This literal interpretation seems to be in line with the meaning. Waves can be considered as the top layer – skin – of water.

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

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

Example #1: how to say “waves” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example 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 “nami” to make the subject in the sentence.
• kaigan – 海岸 (かいがん) : a noun meaning ‘seashore’ in Japanese.
• ni – に : a case particle used to say in which direction an action is heading. In the example, this is used after “kaigai” to say in which direction the action, “uchiyoseru”, is heading.
• uchiyoseru – 打ち寄せる (うちよせる) : a verb meaning ‘to break (on the seashore)’. This is a kind of special verb to express waves breaking on the seashore.

This is a typical usage of “nami”. When we want to say “wave” or “waves” in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.

Example #2: another usage of “nami”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to make its possessive case, “kanojo no”, which means ‘her’ in Japanese.
• kanjou – 感情 (かんじょう) : a noun meaning ’emotion’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun.
• no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the first noun can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join “kanjou” and “nami”. The formed phrase literally means ‘waves of emotion’. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is similar to that of the English preposition, “of”. The first, “no”, explained above can be considered as a special use case of this type of “no”.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo no kanjou no nami” to make the subject in the sentence.
• hageshii – 激しい (はげしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘intense’ or such in Japanese.

This is another typical usage of “nami”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used phrase, “kanjou no nami”, which literally means ‘waves of emotion’ in Japanese. So, it works more like a metaphor for emotional ups and downs.

Summary

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

• nami – 波 (なみ) : a noun meaning ‘wave’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Japanese people normally use this noun to refer to waves. In addition to this basic usage, they sometimes use it as a metaphor for trends, activities, or even moods.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.