1.
rice paddy; paddy field; wet-rice field
A flooded field used for cultivating rice. The defining feature is that the field is intentionally filled with water during the growing season. A central element of Japanese rural landscapes.
水田に水を張る。
To fill the rice paddies with water.
車窓から広大な水田が見えた。
Vast rice paddies were visible from the train window.
日本の水田面積は、農業の近代化とともに減少し続けている。
The area of rice paddies in Japan has been continuously decreasing with the modernization of agriculture.
USAGE:
水田 is the formal/written term for rice paddies. The everyday word is 田んぼ (rice paddy). 水田 is used in news, academic, and agricultural contexts. It contrasts with 畑 (dry field) and 田畑 (fields in general). The character 水 (water) distinguishes it as a wet-cultivation field.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 水田地帯: rice paddy region
- 水田農業: wet-rice agriculture
- 水田面積: rice paddy area
- 水田に水を張る: to flood the paddies