slope, incline, hill
On'yomi (音読み)
- ハン
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- さか
About this kanji
The kanji 坂 (saka) means slope, incline, or hill. It is commonly used as a noun to describe a sloping terrain, like a hill or road. You might see it in compounds such as 坂道 (sakamichi), meaning hill road, which refers to a road that goes up and down hills. Another example is 下り坂 (kudarizaka), which means downhill, describing the downward slope of a path. On the other hand, 上り坂 (noborizaka) means ascent, indicating an upward slope. A quick note: when you encounter 坂, it often indicates a change in elevation, so it's useful for understanding directions in hilly areas.
Example sentences
急な坂を上るのは大変だ。
Climbing a steep slope is tough.
Meanings across languages
- English
- slope, incline, hill
- Tiếng Việt
- dốc, nghiêng, đồi
- 日本語
- 坂, 傾斜, 丘
- 한국어
- 경사, 기울기, 언덕
- 中文
- 坡, 倾斜, 小山
- id
- lereng
- th
- เนิน
- es
- pendiente
- fr
- pente
- de
- Hang
- pt
- inclinação
Common compounds
- 坂道さかみちhill road
- 下り坂くだりざかdownhill, downward slope, descent
- 上り坂のぼりざかascent, uphill, upward slope
- 下坂しもさかdownhill, decline, waning
- 急坂きゅうはんsteep slope, steep hill
- 登坂とうはんclimbing a slope (hill), ascending a hill
- 女坂おんなざかgentler of two paths (leading up to a shrine or temple)
- 男坂おとこざかsteeper of two paths (leading up to a shrine or temple)
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