1.
surging waves; billows; great waves
Large, powerful waves of the sea, often used in literary or dramatic descriptions.
波濤が岩に砕ける。
The surging waves crash against the rocks.
船は波濤を越えて進んだ。
The ship pressed on through the great waves.
荒れ狂う波濤の中で漁師たちは命がけだった。
The fishermen risked their lives amid the raging billows.
歴史の波濤に翻弄された人々の物語。
A story of people tossed about by the waves of history.
波 (wave) + 濤 (billows, surging waves). Both characters mean waves, creating an emphatic compound that evokes massive, powerful ocean swells. A literary and poetic word.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 波濤を越える: cross the great waves; surmount great difficulties
- 波濤が押し寄せる: billows surge in
- 波濤に揉まれる: be tossed by the waves
- 波濤万里: waves stretching ten thousand miles — a literary expression for a vast ocean journey
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 波: wave — the everyday word
- 大波: big wave — more concrete and everyday
- 高波: high wave — used in weather warnings
- 怒濤: 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.