How to say "sailing" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 便びんnoun, noun (suffix)Covers a scheduled sailing as a departure or service, like a ferry crossing booked by time, alongside flights and train trips; it counts individual sailings rather than describing the activity of sailing.
- 航海こうかいnoun, suru verb, intransitive verbRefers to a sea voyage or passage, especially a long one, and to sailing as such; choose this when 'sailing' means the voyage across the sea itself, as in an ocean crossing.
- 航行こうこうnoun, suru verb, transitive verb, intransitive verbFocuses on cruising or navigation, the act of a vessel moving through the water; suits contexts about a ship sailing on a route or its navigation, rather than a voyage as an event.
- 航法こうほうnounReally means navigation as a method or technique, the skill of working out a course; it is seldom the word you want for 'sailing' in the sense of a voyage or of a boat moving under sail.
- 帆走はんそうsuru verb, intransitive verb, no-adjectiveSpecifically sailing under sail, a boat propelled by its sails; use this only when the English 'sailing' refers to that activity, not to a scheduled sailing, a voyage generally, or navigation.
For a scheduled ferry or flight departure use 便; for the activity of navigating a boat use 航海, 航行, or 帆走 (under sail specifically); 航法 is really the technique of navigation, not the voyage itself.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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