海峡（かいきょう、kaikyou）
- strait

The Japanese word 海峡 (かいきょう, *kaikyō*) refers to a strait – a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water. It's essentially a channel of water between two landmasses. 海峡 can also be used figuratively in some contexts to describe a gap or a divide.

⚫︎津軽海峡 Translation: Tsugaru Strait ⚫︎ドーバー海峡 Translation: English Channel (Dover Strait) ⚫︎その二つの国は政治的な海峡を超えられなかった。 Translation: Those two countries couldn't overcome the political divide.

You use 海峡 when talking about geographical features like straits. It's common in discussions about geography, travel, maritime activities, and sometimes, metaphorical divisions. The use of 海峡 will usually come up when discussing a specific geographic feature or when talking about a division between two entities.

The word is written as 海峡. ⚫︎ Kanji: 海 (umi - sea, ocean) and 峡 (kyō - gorge, strait, channel). ⚫︎ Hiragana: かいきょう There are no common variations in okurigana for this word.

There aren't many direct synonyms that specifically mean "strait". However, depending on the context, you might use words that describe similar geographical features or divisions: ⚫︎ 水道 (suidō) - waterway (can sometimes refer to a strait, but generally broader). ⚫︎ 瀬戸 (seto) - channel (often used for narrower straits). ⚫︎ 隔たり (hedatari) - separation, distance (used metaphorically).

There aren't direct antonyms for the word "strait" itself. The opposite would be a wide open ocean or a single landmass. Words that could indirectly relate to the opposite meaning would depend on the context of the sentence.

北海道と本州の間には、津軽海峡があります。 ・Translation: Between Hokkaido and Honshu, there is the Tsugaru Strait. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 海峡 to refer to the geographic feature separating the two main islands of Japan.

世界には多くの重要な海峡があります。 ・Translation: There are many important straits in the world. ・Explanation: This sentence simply introduces the existence of many important straits, using the term 海峡 in a general sense.

The word 海峡 is composed of two kanji: 海 (umi) meaning "sea" or "ocean," and 峡 (kyō) meaning "gorge," "strait," or "channel." The combination of these two characters accurately describes the concept of a narrow passage of water connecting seas.