の王
no ou
In Japanese, "king of" is expressed as の王 (no ou).
This phrase is used as a title to describe a male ruler of a specific country or territory.
What does it mean word for word?
The particle の functions like the English "of" to link the domain being ruled to the title, and 王 means king or monarch.
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle の is used to connect the noun representing the domain (the thing being ruled) to the title 王.
How do you pronounce it?
no ou
Did you know?
- The character 王 is a pictograph that originally depicted a person with a line above and below them, symbolizing a ruler who connects the heavens and the earth.
- The word 王 is used in the phrase 王道 (oudou), which literally means 'the king's road' but is used metaphorically to describe the 'standard' or 'classic' way of doing something.
- In Japanese chess, known as 将棋, the most important piece is called 王将 or 玉将, but it is simply referred to as 玉 (ball/gem) in casual play.
Examples in context
- 鷲は鳥の王だ。The eagle is king of birds.Tatoeba #191977 by KK_kaku_, translation #29139 by slyfin
- 鷲は鳥の王者です。The eagle is the king of birds.Tatoeba #10298667 by small_snow, translation #10298654 by CK
- 鷲は空の王者です。The eagle is the king of the air.Tatoeba #11017655 by small_snow, translation #7816920 by AlanF_US
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yui and Hiroto are discussing a history book.
- 結衣 Yuiこの人はどこの国の王ですか？Kono hito wa doko no kuni no ou desu ka?Which country's king is this person?
- 大翔 Hiroto彼はイギリスの王でした。Kare wa Igirisu no ou deshita.He was the king of England.
- 結衣 Yuiとても有名な王だったんですね。Totemo yuumei na ou datta n desu ne.He was a very famous king, wasn't he?
- 大翔 Hirotoはい、歴史に詳しくなれますよ。Hai, rekishi ni kuwashiku naremasu yo.Yes, you can learn a lot about history.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
