Meaning

Primary

Milky Way

Word Type

noun

Explanation

You're looking at heaven's river, or the river of heaven. There's only one river in heaven (i.e., the sky), and that's the Milky Way!

Reading

あまのがわ
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

This is two individual words connected with a , so it uses kun'yomi readings. You haven't learned this reading for yet, so we've got a mnemonic to help you. Also watch out for the rendaku on , turning it into がわ!

What does the Milky Way remind you of? It kind of looks like a shining piece of armor (あま). Look at it in the sky, shimmering like a piece of silver armor. Uncanny, no?

To summarize: The is read あま here, and the gets rendaku'd to がわ. Add a inbetween and the full reading for this vocab is あまのがわ!

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • 天の川を見る

    to look at the Milky Way

    天の川を渡る

    to cross the Milky Way

    天の川をたどる

    to follow the Milky Way

Context Sentences

あ、天の川が見える!

Oh, I can see the Milky Way!

天気の良い日には、天の川を見ることもできます。

On a clear day, you can also see the Milky Way.

二人は年に一回だけ、天の川を渡って会うことができるんです。ロマンチックでしょ?

The two can meet by crossing the Milky Way just once a year. Isn't that romantic?

Kanji Composition