How to Say "Submarine" in Japanese

潜水艦

sensuikan[sẽ̞ɰ̃sɨikã̠ɴ]

The Japanese word for submarine is 潜水艦 (sensuikan). Wiktionary also lists サブマリン (sabumarin).

Meaning: undersea boat (noun)

Ways to say it

“submarine” in Japanese
Japanese	Romanization (Wiktionary)	IPA
潜水艦	sensuikan	[sẽ̞ɰ̃sɨikã̠ɴ] (narrow)
サブマリン	sabumarin	[sa̠bɯ̟ma̠ɾʲĩɴ] (narrow)

The term refers to an undersea boat.

The word 潜水艦 is composed of the characters 潜 (dive/submerge), 水 (water) and 艦 (warship).

潜水艦 is the standard technical and formal term for a submarine, whereas サブマリン is a loanword often used in pop culture or music.

sensuikan

The term 潜水 is used in the phrase 潜水する as a slang term for someone who suddenly stops replying to messages or disappears from social media.
The word 潜る (to dive) is used in Japanese to describe not only going underwater but also crawling under a blanket or slipping into a hiding spot.
The character 潜 also appears in the word 潜在的 to describe 'potential' or 'latent' abilities, metaphorically describing them as being 'submerged' beneath the surface.

私はこれまで黄色い潜水艦を見たことがない。
I've never seen a yellow submarine in my life.
This sentence shows how to use 潜水艦 when talking about a color.
Tatoeba #160726 by bunbuku, translation #253794 by CK
潜水艦は沈んで二度と浮上しなかった。
The submarine sank, never to rise again.
This sentence uses 潜水艦 to describe a vessel sinking.
Tatoeba #141191 by mookeee, translation #273381 by orcrist
潜水艦は海中で潜航できます。
Submarines can dive underwater.
この潜水艦はとても大きいですね。
Kono sensuikan wa totemo ookii desu ne.
This submarine is very large, isn't it?

Yui and Kenta are visiting a maritime museum together.

結衣 Yui

あそこに大きな潜水艦がありますよ。
Asoko ni ookina sensuikan ga arimasu yo.
There is a large submarine over there.
健太 Kenta

本当ですね、かっこいいです！
Hontou desu ne, kakkoii desu!
You're right, it's cool!
結衣 Yui

中に入って見学しましょう。
Naka ni haitte kengaku shimashou.
Let's go inside to see it.
健太 Kenta

いいですね、行きましょう。
Ii desu ne, ikimashou.
That sounds good, let's go.

Sources

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