サマラ
Samara
The name of the city in Russia, Samara, is translated into Japanese as サマラ.
In Japanese, the name of the Russian city is written using the katakana script as サマラ. The related term 翼果 can be used to refer to a winged indehiscent fruit.
Meaning: city in Russia (name)
Which one should you use?
The katakana form サマラ is the standard way to write the name of the city. However, the name can also be written using the kanji 佐麻良.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to a person named Samara in a friendly or affectionate manner, you may add the honorific suffix ちゃん to the end of the name.
How do you pronounce it?
Samara
Did you know?
- The character 麻 used in the kanji version 佐麻良 refers to 'flax' or 'hemp', showcasing how Japanese writers assign organic imagery to foreign sounds.
- The use of kanji 佐麻良 to write サマラ is an example of 'ateji', where characters are chosen for their sounds rather than their meanings.
- The katakana script used for サマラ was originally developed as a shorthand for official documents and to transcribe foreign sounds that had no kanji equivalent.
Examples in context
- はじめまして、サマラと申します。どうぞよろしくお願いします。Nice to meet you, I am Samara. Pleased to make your acquaintance.
- サマラはロシアの都市です。Samara wa Roshia no toshi desu.Samara is a city in Russia.
- サマラに行きたいです。Samara ni ikitai desu.I want to go to Samara.
- サマラは大きな街ですね。Samara wa ookina machi desu ne.Samara is a big city, isn't it?
Example conversation
Two friends are looking at a world map in a cafe.
- 結衣 Yuiサマラってどこにあるの？Samara tte doko ni aru no?Where is Samara located?
- 陽太 Yotaロシアにあるよ。Roshia ni aru yo.It's in Russia.
- 結衣 Yui陽太君、サマラは有名なの？Youta-kun, Samara wa yuumei na no?Youta, is Samara famous?
- 陽太 Yota川がとても綺麗だよ。Kawa ga totemo kirei da yo.The river there is very beautiful.
