How to say "tunnel" in Japanese

• トンネルJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounThe word for an ordinary tunnel: a passage bored through a mountain or under a river to carry a road or railway. When you simply mean 'tunnel,' this is the word to use.
  汽車きしゃはトンネルを通り抜とおりぬけた。↗

  The train traversed a tunnel.
• 坑道こうどうCommon
  nounA passage dug underground in mining — what miners call a gallery, level, or shaft. For a road or rail tunnel this is not the word you want; it is really a mining term.
• 横穴よこあなCommon
  nounLiterally a sideways hole: a horizontal opening into a cliff or hillside, closer in meaning to 'cave' than to 'tunnel.' Seldom the word you want for a road or rail tunnel.

Use 「トンネル」 for ordinary road and rail tunnels; 坑道 is a mining term for a passage dug in a mine; 横穴 means a horizontal hole or cave opening and is seldom the right word for a tunnel.

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

• トンネルtunnel
• 坑道こうどうtunnel
• 横穴よこあなcave
• 隧道すいどうtunnel
• 間歩まぶtunnel
• 洞門どうもんcave entrance