How do you say "lake" in Japanese?

湖

mizuumi

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "lake" is 湖 (mizuumi).

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Pronunciation

湖 is written using kanji. Romanised as mizuumi, it sounds roughly like "mee-zoo-mee" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Mizuumi uses water (水) as the core, a character appearing in countless hydrological terms. The second character adds specificity to mark it as a large body of water.

Example sentence

この建物には大きな湖があります。

Kono tatemono ni wa ookina Mizuumi ga arimasu.

This building has a large lake.

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How to remember 湖

Mizu (水) looks like three wavy lines of liquid. A lake is much bigger than a single drop or pour.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more Japanese nouns.

Questions about 湖

How do you pronounce 湖?

湖 is romanised as mizuumi. Say it roughly like "mee-zoo-mee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 湖 formal or casual?

湖 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 湖 written in Japanese?

湖 is written using kanji. Mizuumi uses water (水) as the core, a character appearing in countless hydrological terms.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

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"Lake" in other languages

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