人波(ひとなみ)

ひとなみ
noun
wave of people; surging crowd
society
1. wave of people; surging crowd
A large crowd of people moving like waves, especially the flow of a dense throng in a busy place.
駅(えき)は人波(ひとなみ)であふれていた。
The station was overflowing with a sea of people.
人波(ひとなみ)にのまれて友人(ゆうじん)を見失(みうしな)った。
I was swept up in the crowd and lost sight of my friend.
花火大会(はなびたいかい)の帰(かえ)り道(みち)は、駅(えき)まで続(つづ)く人波(ひとなみ)でなかなか進(すす)めなかった。
On the way back from the fireworks show, the wave of people stretching to the station made it hard to move.

Compound of 人(ひと) (people) + 波(なみ) (wave). A vivid image of a crowd flowing and surging like the sea.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 人(ひと)ごみ: crowd; throng — the most common everyday word, emphasizes congestion
  • 群衆(ぐんしゅう): crowd; multitude — more formal, a mass of gathered people

Related Words

Compare: 群衆(ぐんしゅう) (crowd)
Compare: 人込(ひとご)み (crowd of people)
general
Added 2026.5.27 11:07 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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