If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for
"Island", you've come to the right place!
The Japanese Kanji for
"Island"
is "島".
This kanji has 2 readings:
Its kunyomi reading is "Shima".
Its onyomi reading is "Tou".
kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.
If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:
The kanji "山" means "Mountain"
and can be read as "Yama" and "San". And The kanji "鳥" means "Bird"
and can be read as "Chou" and "Tori".
Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.
What does the kanji "島" mean in japanese?
"島" means
"Island"
.
Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Third Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N2 exam.
Here are some words that use this kanji:
島: "Island". The Japanese noun '島 (しま)' means 'island'. This word refers to a piece of land surrounded by water, and it is commonly used to describe both natural and man-made islands. It can be used in various contexts, such as geography, travel, or even metaphorically. For example: I want to visit a tropical island「熱帯の島に行きたい」(ねったいのしまにいきたい). This island is famous for its beautiful beaches「この島は美しいビーチで有名です」(このしまはうつくしいビーチでゆうめいです). The word '島' can also be part of compound words, such as '無人島 (むじんとう)' (uninhabited island) or '島国 (しまぐに)' (island country). 半島: "Peninsula". The Japanese noun '半島 (はんとう)' means 'peninsula'. It refers to a piece of land that is almost entirely surrounded by water but connected to the mainland on one side. This term is commonly used in geography and everyday conversation when referring to specific peninsulas, such as the Korean Peninsula or the Izu Peninsula. For example: The Korean Peninsula is beautiful「朝鮮半島は美しい」(ちょうせんはんとうはうつくしい). I visited the Izu Peninsula last summer「去年の夏、伊豆半島を訪れました」(きょねんのなつ、いずはんとうをおとずれました). 列島: "Archipelago". The Japanese noun '列島 (れっとう)' refers to an 'archipelago', which is a chain or cluster of islands. This term is often used in geographical contexts to describe a group of islands that are closely scattered in a body of water. For example: Japan is an archipelago「日本は列島です」(にほんはれっとうです). The Ryukyu Islands form an archipelago「琉球諸島は列島を形成しています」(りゅうきゅうしょとうはれっとうをけいせいしています). The word emphasizes the interconnectedness of the islands within a specific geographical area. 諸島: "Archipelago". The Japanese noun '諸島 (しょとう)' refers to an 'archipelago', which is a group or chain of islands. This term is often used in geographical contexts to describe clusters of islands, such as the Japanese archipelago itself. For example: The Japanese archipelago consists of many islands「日本の諸島は多くの島々から成る」(にほんのしょとうはおおくのしまじまからなる). The Ryukyu Islands are a famous archipelago「琉球諸島は有名な諸島です」(りゅうきゅうしょとうはゆうめいなしょとうです). The term can also be used metaphorically to describe any group or collection of similar things, though this usage is less common. To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.
But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.
Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.
This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:
The hiragana "と" is read as "to". The hiragana "う" is read as "u". The hiragana "し" is read as "shi". And The hiragana "ま" is read as "ma".
