発電
Meaning in Englishgeneration (e.g., power)
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
発電 means the process of generating electricity; it refers to producing electrical energy from energy sources such as fossil fuels, hydro, wind, solar, or nuclear through machinery like generators and turbines.
Main meanings
- Electric power generation as a general technical concept used in engineering, policy, and industry.
- The act or capacity of producing electric energy, often discussed in relation to power plants and energy sources.
How to use it
Used in formal and technical contexts; appears as 発電 as a noun and as 発電する in verb form; common collocations include 発電所, 発電量, 発電能力; in discourse about energy policy, industry reports, and media coverage of electricity supply. 発電所の新設計画が承認された。再生可能エネルギーの拡大に伴い発電構成が変化している。
Variants and close terms
- 電力生成 (でんりょくせいぞう) — formal synonym
- 電力生産 (でんりょくせいさん) — production of electric power
- 発電する (はつでんする) — verb form to generate electricity
- 電力発生 (でんりょくはっせい) — alternative compound
Composition
- 発: to start, emit; indicates initiation of energy flow
- 電: electricity; the energy being produced
Etymology
The term is a Sino-Japanese compound formed from 発 (to start/emit) and 電 (electricity). The reading はつでん uses on'yomi, typical for technical vocabulary.
Origin
Emerging in the Meiji period with the modernization of Japan's energy infrastructure, 発電 came to denote the generation of electricity as power plants were introduced and the electric grid expanded.
Word class
noun (サ変名詞)