How to say "swamp" in Japanese

• 沼ぬまJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounThe everyday default for a swamp or marsh: still, shallow water over soft wet ground. It also covers wetland and bog; for the figurative 'stuck in a swamp' sense, see 泥沼.
  その沼ぬまにはサギがたくさん住すんでいる。↗

  Lots of herons live in the marsh.
• 泥沼どろぬまCommon
  nounLiterally a swamp of mud, a bog you sink into; it is also the word for the figurative quagmire — a situation that drags you down and that you cannot escape.
• 谷地やちCommon
  nounA regional word for low, marshy ground, at home in northern Japan; unless you are dealing with local usage there, it is seldom the word you want for 'swamp' — 沼 is the safer choice.
• 沼沢しょうたくCommon
  nounA compound of 沼 and 沢; it covers marsh, swamp and bog as an expanse of wet, low-lying ground, and is at home in written or geographical description of terrain.
• 沢さわCommon
  nounIts basic sense is a mountain stream or valley; as 'swamp' it covers the wet, marshy ground along one. Common in place names and hikers' vocabulary; for a plain swamp, 沼 is the usual word.

Use 沼 as the everyday word for a swamp or marsh; 泥沼 adds mud and the figurative quagmire sense; 沼沢 and 沢 describe wet terrain, with 沢 tied to mountain valleys; 谷地 is regional.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 沼ぬまmarsh
• 泥沼どろぬまbog
• 谷地やちmarsh land
• 沼沢しょうたくmarsh
• 沢さわwetlands