谷（たに、tani）
- valley

The Japanese word 谷 (たに) primarily means "valley" or "gorge." It refers to a low area of land between hills or mountains, often with a stream or river flowing through it. It can also figuratively describe a dip or depression in something.

⚫︎山谷 Translation: Mountain valley ⚫︎深い谷 Translation: Deep valley ⚫︎谷間 Translation: The space in between (like the space between two mountains).

⚫︎ Use 谷 when referring to valleys in geographical contexts. ⚫︎ It is also used metaphorically to describe a dip or a low point in something, such as in business or a person's life. ⚫︎ Be mindful of the context to ensure the meaning is clear.

⚫︎ The word is typically written as 谷 using the kanji. ⚫︎ The hiragana reading is たに. ⚫︎ There are no common variations in the okurigana.

⚫︎ 渓谷 (けいこく) - canyon, gorge ⚫︎ 沢 (さわ) - ravine ⚫︎ 盆地 (ぼんち) - basin (though slightly different in meaning)

⚫︎ 山 (やま) - mountain ⚫︎ 丘 (おか) - hill ⚫︎ 高地 (こうち) - highlands

その谷はとても深く、底が見えなかった。 ・Translation: That valley was very deep; I couldn't see the bottom. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 谷 to describe a physical valley with significant depth.

業績は一時的に谷に落ち込んだが、その後回復した。 ・Translation: The performance temporarily dipped, but then recovered. ・Explanation: Here, 谷 is used metaphorically to describe a temporary decline in business performance.

The kanji 谷 is a pictograph representing a valley, with the two sides of the kanji representing the mountain slopes and the line in the middle representing the valley floor.