How to say "lake" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- nounA loanword from English. For a lake as a body of water, the native word 湖 is the usual choice, so レーク is seldom the word you need.
- 湖水こすいnounChiefly the water of a lake rather than the lake as a whole. For the lake itself — a body of water surrounded by land — 湖 is the word.
- 湖沼こしょうnounA collective term for inland waters: lakes, marshes and wetlands taken together. For one particular lake, 湖 is the word; 湖沼 treats them as a class.
- 湖みずうみnounThe ordinary word for a lake — a body of water surrounded by land — and the default choice in most contexts, in speech and writing alike.
Use 湖 for a lake as a body of water; 湖水 is for the water of a lake, 湖沼 for lakes and marshes as a category, and 「レーク」 is a loanword seldom the word you need.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
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