Word
泳ぐ
Meaning in Englishto swim
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
泳ぐ means to swim; it denotes the act of moving through water by using the arms and legs, typically for recreation or sport.
Main meanings
- to swim, moving through water using arms and legs
- to swim as an activity for recreation or sport
- applies to humans and animals capable of swimming
- commonly collocates with 海で泳ぐ and プールで泳ぐ
How to use it
Used to describe the act of swimming in water; in casual speech the plain form 泳ぐ is common, while 泳ぎます is used in polite contexts; common locations include 海, プール, 川を泳ぐ; it can refer to humans and animals that swim.
Variants and close terms
- 水泳をする, suiei o suru — to swim as a sport or training
- 泳ぎ, oyogi — swimming as a noun or act
- 溺れる, oboreru — to drown (antonym)
Composition
- 氵 water radical signals the semantic field of water
- 永 phonetic element provides the sound and a sense of flowing motion
Etymology
泳 combines 氵 water radical on the left with a phonetic element on the right; the kun reading is oyogu and the on reading is ei, showing how the character encodes both water and the sound related to swimming.
Word class
verb (五段動詞)