水たまり
mizutamari[mʲizɨta̠ma̠ɾʲi]
The Japanese word for 'puddle' is 水たまり (mizutamari).
Meaning: a small pool of water (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
mizutamari
Did you know?
- In Japanese, the same root used in 水たまり (mizutamari) is used in the word 溜息 (tameiki), which means 'a sigh'. This describes a sigh as a 'pooling' or 'accumulation' of breath in the chest.
- The verb 溜まる (tamaru), which forms the second half of 水たまり, is also used to describe 'accumulating' things like stress, fatigue or unpaid bills.
- While 'puddle' describes the water, the word 溜まり (tamari) can also be used to describe a 'gathering' of people or a 'clump' of things in a metaphorical sense.
Examples in context
- 大きな水たまりができています。Ookina mizutamari ga dekite imasu.A large puddle has formed.
- 水たまりを飛び越えました。Mizutamari o tobikoemashita.I jumped over the puddle.
Example conversation
Misaki and Yota are walking home after the rain.
- 美咲 Misakiあそこに水たまりがあるよ。asoko ni mizutamari ga aru yo.There's a puddle over there.
- 陽太 Yota本当だ。危ないね。hontou da. abunai ne.You're right. That's risky.
- 美咲 Misaki陽太くん、靴が濡れないように気をつけて。Youta-kun, kutsu ga nurenai you ni ki o tsukete.Yota, be careful not to get your shoes wet.
- 陽太 Yotaありがとう、美咲さん。arigatou, Misaki-san.Thanks, Misaki.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “puddle” translations and entries 水たまり, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
