蒸発（じょうはつ、jouhatsu）
- evaporation

The Japanese word 蒸発 (じょうはつ, *jōhatsu*) means "evaporation" or "to evaporate". It refers to the process where a substance changes from a liquid or solid state to a gaseous (vapor) state, typically due to an increase in temperature or pressure. It can be used both literally and figuratively. Literally, it describes the physical process, like water turning into steam. Figuratively, it can describe something disappearing or vanishing.

⚫︎ 水が蒸発］した。 Translation: The water evaporated. ⚫︎ あの噂はすぐに蒸発］してしまった。 Translation: That rumor quickly disappeared.

This word is used in various contexts. ⚫︎ It is appropriate for describing scientific phenomena, like the evaporation of water. ⚫︎ It can be used to describe the disappearance of things, ideas, or situations. ⚫︎ It can also be used in more abstract or figurative ways to convey a sense of something vanishing. The word is relatively formal and suitable for both written and spoken Japanese.

⚫︎ The word is typically written in kanji as 蒸発. ⚫︎ The reading is じょうはつ in hiragana. ⚫︎ There is no katakana version for this word. ⚫︎ The okurigana (送りがな, suffix hiragana) is usually just 発.

⚫︎ 気化 (きか, *kika*) - vaporization ⚫︎ 消滅 (しょうめつ, *shoumetsu*) - disappearance, vanishing (can be used figuratively) ⚫︎ 消失 (しょうしつ, *shoushitsu*) - disappearance, loss (can be used figuratively)

⚫︎ 凝縮 (ぎょうしゅく, *gyōshuku*) - condensation ⚫︎ 蓄積 (ちくせき, *chikuseki*) - accumulation

太陽の熱で池の水が蒸発］し始めた。 ・Translation: The water in the pond started to evaporate from the sun's heat. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 蒸発 to describe the physical process of water turning into vapor due to the heat of the sun.

会議の議題は、議論の末に蒸発］した。 ・Translation: The agenda of the meeting evaporated after discussion. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 蒸発 figuratively to mean that the subject or issue of the meeting disappeared or was removed through the discussion.

The word 蒸発 is a compound word formed from two kanji: ⚫︎ 蒸 (じょう, *jō*) - steam, vapor, to steam ⚫︎ 発 (はつ, *hatsu*) - to start, to emit, to develop Therefore, 蒸発 literally means "to emit steam" or "to generate vapor," which accurately reflects the process of evaporation.