波濤(はとう)

はとう
noun
surging waves; billows; great waves
naturegeography
1. surging waves; billows; great waves
Large, powerful waves of the sea, often used in literary or dramatic descriptions.
波濤(はとう)が岩(いわ)に砕(くだ)ける。
The surging waves crash against the rocks.
船(ふね)は波濤(はとう)を越(こ)えて進(すす)んだ。
The ship pressed on through the great waves.
荒(あ)れ狂(くる)う波濤(はとう)の中(なか)で漁師(りょうし)たちは命(いのち)がけだった。
The fishermen risked their lives amid the raging billows.
歴史(れきし)の波濤(はとう)に翻弄(ほんろう)された人々(ひとびと)の物語(ものがたり)。
A story of people tossed about by the waves of history.

波(は) (wave) + 濤(とう) (billows, surging waves). Both characters mean waves, creating an emphatic compound that evokes massive, powerful ocean swells. A literary and poetic word.

Common collocations

  • 波濤(はとう)を越(こ)える: cross the great waves; surmount great difficulties
  • 波濤(はとう)が押(お)し寄(よ)せる: billows surge in
  • 波濤(はとう)に揉(も)まれる: be tossed by the waves
  • 波濤(はとう)万里(ばんり): waves stretching ten thousand miles — a literary expression for a vast ocean journey

Similar words

  • 波(なみ): wave — the everyday word
  • 大波(おおなみ): big wave — more concrete and everyday
  • 高波(たかなみ): high wave — used in weather warnings
  • 怒濤(どとう): raging waves, torrent — implies violent, furious waves; also used figuratively for an overwhelming rush

Usage

A literary word found in novels, poetry, historical writing, and figurative expressions. Often used metaphorically for the turbulent forces of history, fate, or emotion. Rarely used in everyday conversation or news reports about actual weather.

Related Words

Compare: 大波(おおなみ) (big wave)
Compare: 高波(たかなみ) (high wave)
general
Added 2026.4.18 18:17 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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