The Japanese word for river is kawa and the word for stream is taiga.
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| Romanji | Kanji | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| River かわ | Kawa | 川 and 河 | |
| River mouth かわぐち | Kawaguchi | 河口 | |
| River basin かせんりゅういき | Kasen ryūiki | 河川流域 | |
| Stream たいが | Taiga | 大河 |
Interesting facts about rivers in Japan
The kanji for river
There are two different kanji’s for the word river – 川 and 河. The 川 kanji is used when talking about small rivers and the 河 kanji is more suited when referring to larger rivers.
Are there any rivers in Japan?
There are hundreds of rivers in Japan and the three major rivers of the country are the Tone-gawa, the Yodo-gawa and the Shinano-gawa. Interestingly, many people do not know this, but Tokyo City is built on top of many different rivers – including two very ancient rivers, the Onden and the Uda. Read more about this here.