Japanese word

照る

Pronunciation

Romajiteru

Meaning

  • verbshine

Example

空に太陽が照っています。sora ni tai yō ga te tte i ma su

The sun is shining in the sky.

Illustration for 照る (shine)

More examples

夏の午後は、庭に日が照ります。natsu no go go wa niwa ni hi ga te ri ma su

The sun shines on the garden on summer afternoons.

Core concept

Describes light shining from a natural source and making its surroundings bright.

Common phrases

  • 日が照るhi ga te ru

    the sun shines

  • 西日が照るnishi bi ga te ru

    the afternoon sun shines

  • さんさんと照るsa n sa n to te ru

    shine brilliantly

Similar words

輝くkagayaku: To give off a bright, vivid light.
光るhikaru: To produce light or reflect it from a surface.

Definition in Japanese

太陽や月などが光を放ち、周囲を明るくする。tai yō ya tsuki na do ga hikari o hana chi shū i o aka ru ku su ru

Word origin

The native Japanese verb 照る (teru, "to shine") belongs to the inherited Japanese vocabulary, and no reliable derivation from another word is established.

Usage tips

  • In the phrase 日が照る (hi ga teru), the sun is the subject, so the expression describes the sun shining rather than someone shining a light on an object.

Opposites

  • 陰るkagerudimverb

Related words

  • 照りterisunshinenoun

Word lists with this word