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山川 (さんせん) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

山さん川せん

also: やまかわ

さ

ん

せ

ん

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

mountains and rivers; natural scenery

Refers to the natural landscape, often with a poetic or literary nuance. Can also imply the vastness or beauty of nature.

日本にほんは美うつくしい山さん川せんに恵めぐまれている。
Japan is blessed with beautiful mountains and rivers.
彼かれは山さん川せんを愛あいし、よく旅たびに出でる。
He loves natural scenery and often goes traveling.

Written forms

山川Usage100%
- さんせん
  Standard kanji form. The reading さんせん is the most common and is used in news contexts.
- やまかわ
  Alternate reading. Less common than さんせん, but still used. Often appears in place names or poetic contexts.
やまかわ

Kanji

山mountain
川stream, river, river or three-stroke river radical (no. 47)

Similar words

山さん河が
Also means 'mountains and rivers', but 山河 is more literary and often used in set phrases like 山河を越えて (across mountains and rivers). 山川 is more common in everyday descriptions of nature.

Etymology

Compound of 山 (mountain) and 川 (river). The reading さんせん is the on'yomi (Sino-Japanese) reading, while やまかわ is the kun'yomi (native Japanese) reading.