睡蓮
suiren[sɨiɾẽ̞ɴ]
The English phrase water lily is translated into Japanese as 睡蓮 (suiren) or スイレン.
Meaning: Any members of Nymphaeaceae (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 睡蓮 | suiren | [sɨiɾẽ̞ɴ] (narrow) |
| スイレン | suiren |
This term refers to any members of the Nymphaeaceae plant family.
What does it mean word for word?
The kanji form 睡蓮 literally means 'sleeping lotus'.
Which one should you use?
The katakana spelling スイレン is frequently used in botanical contexts or scientific descriptions.
How do you pronounce it?
suiren
Did you know?
- The word 蓮 'ren' in 睡蓮 is a shared character with Chinese, reflecting how both languages imported the concept of the lotus from Sanskrit via Buddhist texts.
- While 睡蓮 is the general term, the word ハス 'lotus' carries a much heavier Buddhist connotation of purity and enlightenment than 睡蓮 does.
- While 睡蓮 means 'sleeping lotus', it is often used in Japanese literature and poetry to symbolize a sense of peaceful-ness or even death, due to the plant's tendency to close its petals at night.
Examples in context
- スイレンの葉っぱって、水面に浮かぶんだよ。The leaves of the water lily float on the surface of the water.This sentence is useful for describing how the leaves of the スイレン float on the water surface.Tatoeba #10010886 by small_snow, translation #9990516 by AlanF_US
- 池に睡蓮が咲いています。ike ni suiren ga saite imasu.Water lilies are blooming in the pond.
- この睡蓮はとても美しいですね。kono suiren wa totemo utsukushii desu ne.This water lily is very beautiful, isn't it?
Example conversation
A couple is walking through a botanical garden.
- 健太 Kenta見て、あそこに睡蓮があるよ。mite, asoko ni suiren ga aru yo.Look, there are water lilies over there.
- 美咲 Misaki本当。きれいな睡蓮だね。honto. kirei na suiren da ne.You're right. They are beautiful water lilies.
- 健太 Kenta美咲、もっと近くで見よう。misaki, motto chikaku de miyou.Misaki, let's go look closer.
- 美咲 Misakiうん、すごく素敵！un, sugoku suteki!Yes, they are wonderful!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “water lily” translations and entries 睡蓮, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
