泡沫(ほうまつ)

ほうまつ
noun
foam; bubble; ephemeral
formalnatureabstract
1. foam, froth, bubbles
Foam or bubbles that form on the surface of a liquid.
波(なみ)が泡沫(ほうまつ)を立(た)てる。
Waves form foam.
海面(かいめん)に白(しろ)い泡沫(ほうまつ)が浮(う)かんでいた。
White foam was floating on the surface of the sea.
川(かわ)の流(なが)れが速(はや)い場所(ばしょ)には、泡沫(ほうまつ)が絶(た)えず生(しょう)じている。
Foam constantly forms where the river current is fast.
2. ephemeral, fleeting
Something that vanishes quickly like a bubble, used figuratively to describe transient or short-lived things.
泡沫(ほうまつ)のような夢(ゆめ)だった。
It was a fleeting dream.
バブル経済(けいざい)は泡沫(ほうまつ)のごとく消(き)えた。
The bubble economy vanished like foam.
彼(かれ)の成功(せいこう)は泡沫(ほうまつ)のように儚(はかな)く、すぐに忘(わす)れられてしまった。
His success was as ephemeral as foam and was quickly forgotten.

Can be read as ほうまつ or うたかた, with うたかた being more literary and poetic. The word evokes imagery of bubbles rising and bursting, which is a classic metaphor for impermanence in Japanese literature.

Common collocations

Cultural note

The famous opening of 鴨長明(かものちょうめい)'s 方丈記(ほうじょうき) uses the image of foam on water (水(みず)の泡(あわ)) to express the Buddhist concept of impermanence (無常(むじょう)). The figurative sense of 泡沫(ほうまつ) draws on this literary tradition.

Similar words

  • 泡(あわ): bubble, foam — the everyday word for physical bubbles
  • 儚(はかな)い: ephemeral, transient — an adjective expressing the same fleeting quality

Related Words

Compare: 儚(はかな)い (ephemeral, transient)
general
Added 2026.4.2 12:18 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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