探検者(たんけんしゃ)

たんけんしゃ
noun
explorer; adventurer
1. explorer; adventurer
A person who travels to unknown or unfamiliar places to investigate or discover.
偉大(いだい)な探検者(たんけんしゃ)たち。
Great explorers.
子(こ)どもの頃(ころ)、探検者(たんけんしゃ)に憧(あこが)れていた。
When I was a child, I admired explorers.
十五世紀(じゅうごせいき)のヨーロッパでは、多(おお)くの探検者(たんけんしゃ)が未知(みち)の大陸(たいりく)を目指(めざ)して航海(こうかい)に出(で)た。
In fifteenth-century Europe, many explorers set out on voyages to reach unknown continents.

A compound of 探検(たんけん) (exploration, expedition) and the agent suffix 者(しゃ) (person). Refers to someone who explores unknown regions, whether historically (geographical explorers) or in modern contexts (cave explorers, deep-sea explorers, etc.).

Note: 探検(たんけん) can also be written 探険(たんけん) (with 険(けん) meaning "danger" rather than 検(けん) meaning "examine"). Both spellings are accepted, though 探検(たんけん) is more standard.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 偉大(いだい)な探検者(たんけんしゃ): a great explorer
  • 北極(ほっきょく)探検者(たんけんしゃ): Arctic explorer
  • 探検者(たんけんしゃ)の記録(きろく): records of an explorer
  • 探検者(たんけんしゃ)精神(せいしん): explorer's spirit

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 冒険家(ぼうけんか): adventurer — emphasizes risk-taking and daring, often used for modern adventurers
  • 探検家(たんけんか): explorer — synonym using the suffix 家(か) instead of 者(しゃ); slightly more prestigious
  • 旅人(たびびと): traveler — more poetic, doesn't imply discovery or investigation
general
Added 2026.4.26 21:37
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