How do you say "stream" in Japanese?

小川

ogawa

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "stream" is 小川 (ogawa).

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Pronunciation

OH-gah-wah, three syllables, small plus kawa, river, giving away its meaning.

Writing and usage

小川 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

澄んだ小川が岩の上を流れていた。

sun da ogawa ga iwa no ue wo nagare teita.

A clear stream trickled over the rocks.

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How to remember 小川

Ogawa is small-river, so once you know kawa means river, a stream is just its little cousin.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 小川

How do you pronounce 小川?

OH-gah-wah, three syllables, small plus kawa, river, giving away its meaning.

Is 小川 formal or casual?

小川 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 小川 written in Japanese?

小川 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as ogawa.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Stream" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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