神戸(こうべ)

こうべ
noun (proper)
Kobe (port city in Hyogo Prefecture)
proper-nounplace-namegeography
1. Kobe; the port city of Hyogo Prefecture
A major port city west of Osaka, wedged between mountains and the sea. Opened to foreign trade in 1868, it kept a cosmopolitan reputation for Western architecture, bakeries, and coffee, and it is also the source of 神戸(こうべ)牛(ぎゅう) beef.
神戸(こうべ)に住(す)んでいます。
I live in Kobe.
神戸(こうべ)の夜景(やけい)はとても有名(ゆうめい)だ。
The night view of Kobe is very famous.
神戸(こうべ)は山(やま)と海(うみ)が近(ちか)いので、坂道(さかみち)の多(おお)い町(まち)になっている。
Because the mountains and sea are close together in Kobe, it has become a town full of slopes.

Common expressions

  • 神戸(こうべ)牛(ぎゅう): Kobe beef, the premium marbled beef brand
  • 神戸(こうべ)港(こう): the Port of Kobe
  • 異人館(いじんかん): the Western-style residences of the old foreign settlement
  • 阪神(はんしん)淡路(あわじ)大震災(だいしんさい): the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, which devastated the city

Cultural note

神戸(こうべ) carries an image of refinement and Western influence — 神戸(こうべ)風(ふう) suggests stylish, slightly European taste, especially in sweets and fashion. Its recovery from the 1995 earthquake is also a standard reference point in discussions of disaster preparedness.

general
Added 2026.8.20 11:40 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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