平 泳(ひらおよ)ぎ

ひらおよぎ

noun

breaststroke

1. breaststroke

A swimming stroke performed face-down with simultaneous arm movements that pull water toward the chest and a frog-like kick. The slowest of the four competitive strokes but efficient for recreational swimming.

平泳(ひらおよ)ぎは初心者(しょしんしゃ)でも泳(およ)ぎやすい。

Breaststroke is easy to swim even for beginners.

平泳(ひらおよ)ぎで100メートルを泳(およ)いだ。

I swam 100 meters breaststroke.

平泳(ひらおよ)ぎのフォームを直(なお)したい。

I want to fix my breaststroke form.

平泳(ひらおよ)ぎの蛙足(かえるあし)キックがなかなか上手(うま)くできない。

I just can't seem to get the frog kick right in breaststroke.

個人(こじん)メドレーでは平泳(ひらおよ)ぎが一番(いちばん)遅(おそ)いので、そこで差(さ)がつきやすい。

In the individual medley, breaststroke is the slowest leg, so that's where gaps tend to open up.

The four competitive strokes

平泳(ひらおよ)ぎ (breaststroke) - slowest but energy-efficient
背泳(せおよ)ぎ (backstroke) - swum on back
バタフライ (butterfly) - most demanding
クロール/自由形(じゆうがた) (front crawl/freestyle) - fastest

Technique

蛙足(かえるあし) (frog kick)
キック (kick)
プル (pull/arm movement)
息継(いきつ)ぎ (breathing)

Competitive events

50m, 100m, 200m 平泳(ひらおよ)ぎ (individual events)
個人(こじん)メドレー (individual medley - IM)
メドレーリレー (medley relay)

Etymology

The oldest known swimming stroke
Japan has produced many Olympic medalists in 平泳(ひらおよ)ぎ
北島(きたじま)康介(こうすけ) won gold in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics

Common collocations

平泳(ひらおよ)ぎで泳(およ)ぐ (to swim breaststroke)
平泳(ひらおよ)ぎを習(なら)う (to learn breaststroke)

Related Words

Related: 背泳(せおよ)ぎ (swimming stroke)

Compare: 犬(いぬ)かき (dog paddle (swimming))

Compare: バタ足(あし) (flutter kick (swimming))

core

Added 2026.1.18 8:09 · Revised 2026.9.2 12:02

06500/06526_hiraoyogi