Japanese word

軍艦

Pronunciation

Romajigunkan

Meaning

  • nounwarship

Example

大きな軍艦が港に入ります。ō ki na gun kan ga minato ni hai ri ma su

A large warship enters the harbor.

Illustration for 軍艦 (warship)

More examples

その国は新しい軍艦を建造しています。so no kuni wa atara shi i gun kan o ken zō shi te i ma su

That country is building a new warship.

Core concept

Refers to a military vessel used for combat or other armed operations at sea.

Common phrases

  • 軍艦を建造するgun kan o ken zō su ru

    build a warship

  • 軍艦を配備するgun kan o hai bi su ru

    deploy a warship

  • 軍艦に乗るgun kan ni no ru

    board a warship

Similar words

軍用艦gunyōkan: A vessel operated by a military force for operations at sea.
戦艦senkan: A large warship with heavy weapons designed for major naval battles.
艦艇kantei: A military vessel, including ships and submarines, used at sea.

Definition in Japanese

戦闘や軍事行動に用いる船。sen tō ya gun ji kō dō ni mochi i ru fune

Word origin

軍 (gun, "army") and 艦 (kan, "warship") form the Sino-Japanese compound 軍艦 (gunkan, "warship").

Usage tips

  • In English, warship is the broad term, while battleship usually refers to a specific large and heavily armed type of warship.

Other meanings

  • battleshipnoun

Word lists with this word