1.
slope, hill, incline
A surface of ground that is not flat, especially one that goes up or down.
この坂は急だ。
This slope is steep.
坂を上って学校に行く。
I go up the hill to school.
坂を下ると駅がある。
If you go down the slope, there's a station.
この辺りには坂が多いので、自転車では大変だ。
There are many hills in this area, so it's tough by bicycle.
毎朝この長い坂を上って会社に行くのは大変だけど、健康にいいと思う。
It's tough to go up this long hill every morning to get to work, but I think it's good for my health.
坂 refers to a sloping street or hillside path.
COMMON EXPRESSIONS:
- 坂を上る: to go up a hill
- 坂を下る/下りる: to go down a hill
- 急な坂: steep slope
- 坂道: sloping road, hill road
IN PLACE NAMES:
坂 appears in many famous Japanese place names:
- 赤坂: Akasaka (Tokyo)
- 道玄坂: Dogenzaka (Shibuya)
- 乃木坂: Nogizaka
RELATED WORDS:
- 丘: hill (landform)
- 斜面: slope (general term)
- 下り坂: downhill slope