小川(おがわ)

おがわ
noun
stream; brook; creek
1. stream; brook; creek
A small, narrow body of flowing water, smaller than a river. Often found in natural settings like mountains, forests, or rural areas.
森(もり)の中(なか)を小川(おがわ)が流(なが)れている。
A stream flows through the forest.
小川(おがわ)で魚(さかな)を捕(と)った。
I caught fish in the stream.
小川(おがわ)のせせらぎが聞(き)こえる。
I can hear the murmuring of the brook.

FORMATION:
小(お) (small) + 川(かわ/がわ) (river)
→ A small river; stream

USAGE:

Often appears in poetic or scenic descriptions:

  • 小川(おがわ)のせせらぎ (murmur/babble of a brook)
  • 小川(おがわ)の流(なが)れ (flow of a stream)

NOTE ON NAME:
小川(おがわ) is also a common Japanese surname (Ogawa).

RELATED WORDS BY SIZE:

  • 川(かわ) - River (general term)
  • 大河(たいが) - Great river, major river
  • 小川(おがわ) - Stream, brook
  • 細流(さいりゅう/ほそながれ) - Rivulet, streamlet (literary)

ONOMATOPOEIA:

  • さらさら - Flowing smoothly (stream sound)
  • せせらぎ - Murmuring, babbling (of a brook)

Related Words

Related: 川(かわ) (river)
core
Added 2026.1.18 13:28 · Revised 2026.1.19 21:17
06500/06695_ogawa