こだま
こだま
noun
echo; Kodama (Shinkansen service)
1.
echo; reverberation
A sound bouncing back from mountains, valleys, or large enclosed spaces. In folklore the word also refers to a tree spirit thought to cause echoes in deep forests.
山でこだまが聞こえた。
An echo could be heard in the mountains.
谷に向かって叫ぶと、こだまが返ってきた。
When I shouted toward the valley, an echo came back.
古い言い伝えでは、森の中のこだまは木の精霊の声だとされている。
In old folklore, the echoes in the forest are said to be the voices of tree spirits.
2.
Kodama (Tōkaidō/Sanyō Shinkansen service)
The slowest, all-stations Shinkansen service running on the Tōkaidō and Sanyō lines, faster than ordinary trains but slower than のぞみ and ひかり. Named after the echo, suggesting the sound of speed traveling through mountains.
こだまで大阪まで行く。
I'm taking the Kodama to Osaka.
こだまは各駅に停まるので時間がかかる。
The Kodama stops at every station, so it takes time.
安い切符を使いたかったので、のぞみではなくこだまに乗った。
I wanted to use a cheap ticket, so I took the Kodama instead of the Nozomi.
The everyday meaning is "echo," but the word is equally well known as the name of one of the three Tōkaidō Shinkansen services.
SENSE 1 — ECHO:
- Often written 木霊 or 谺 in literary texts; usually in hiragana in everyday writing.
- 山びこ is a near-synonym used especially for the bouncing-back of one's own voice.
SENSE 2 — SHINKANSEN:
The three Tōkaidō/Sanyō Shinkansen services in order of speed are:
- のぞみ: fastest; stops only at major stations
- ひかり: medium; stops at major plus selected stations
- こだま: slowest; stops at every Shinkansen station
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- こだまが返る: an echo comes back
- こだまする: to echo, to reverberate
- こだま号: the Kodama (with the train-name suffix)