手 漕(てこ)ぎ

てこぎ

noun

rowing by hand; oar-powered; manually rowed/paddled

1. rowing by hand; powered by hand-operated oars (as opposed to a motor)

Used as a noun and as a noun-modifier (with の) to describe boats, vehicles, or simple machines that are propelled by human muscle power — typically by oars or paddles — rather than by an engine or motor. Most often heard in 手漕(てこ)ぎボート ("rowboat").

手漕(てこ)ぎボートに乗(の)る。

I get into a rowboat.

湖(みずうみ)で手漕(てこ)ぎボートを借(か)りた。

We rented a rowboat at the lake.

祖父(そふ)は昔(むかし)、手漕(てこ)ぎの舟(ふね)で毎日(まいにち)漁(りょう)に出(で)ていた。

My grandfather used to go out fishing every day in a hand-rowed boat.

モーターボートと違(ちが)って、手漕(てこ)ぎボートは静(しず)かに湖面(こめん)を進(すす)むので自然(しぜん)を楽(たの)しめる。

Unlike motorboats, rowboats glide quietly across the lake's surface, so you can really enjoy nature.

手漕(てこ)ぎ is the noun form of 手(て)漕(こ)ぐ (literally "to row by hand"), used to describe vehicles or boats propelled by human-powered oars or paddles. It is overwhelmingly used as a modifier of another noun (especially 手漕(てこ)ぎボート), with の as the connector.

Forms

手(て) ("hand") + 漕(こ)ぎ (the noun form of 漕(こ)ぐ "to row, to paddle")

Common collocations

手漕(てこ)ぎボート: rowboat (the most frequent use)
手漕(てこ)ぎの船(ふね) / 手漕(てこ)ぎの舟(ふね): a hand-rowed boat
手漕(てこ)ぎポンプ: hand-operated pump
手漕(てこ)ぎで進(すす)む: to advance by rowing (by hand)

Similar / contrasting terms

足漕(あしこ)ぎ: pedal-powered (e.g. 足漕(あしこ)ぎボート "pedal boat")
電動(でんどう): electric-powered (the modern contrast)
モーター付(つ)き: motor-equipped
自動(じどう): automatic / self-propelled

Usage

Although 手漕(てこ)ぎ technically can describe other hand-cranked devices (e.g. an old hand pump), in everyday Japanese it almost always refers to boats. Outside that context, native speakers more often spell out 手(て)動(どう) ("manual") or 手(て)で漕(こ)ぐ as a verb phrase.
When attached to another noun, the connector is の: 手漕(てこ)ぎの船(ふね), not 手漕(てこ)ぎ船(ぶね).

Related Words

Compare: 電動(でんどう) (electric-powered)

general

Added 2026.5.9 21:03 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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