Explore 湾 in names and words for a bay and its shore. Learn each reading with the whole word.
The idea
湾 has 12 strokes and is read わん in 湾, 湾岸（わんがん） and 東京湾（とうきょうわん）. Follow the linked stroke-order diagram. 湾岸 refers to the shore or area along a bay.
| Word | Reading |
|---|---|
| 湾 | わん |
| 湾岸 | わんがん |
| 東京湾 | とうきょうわん |
Examples
- 船が湾に入りました。The ship entered the bay.
- 公園から東京湾が見えます。You can see Tokyo Bay from the park.
- 湾岸には倉庫がたくさんあります。There are many warehouses along the bay shore.
- この湾は波が穏やかです。The waves in this bay are calm.
- 湾岸を車で走りました。We drove along the bay shore.
- 東京湾に沈む夕日を見ました。We watched the sunset over Tokyo Bay.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
湾 is the bay itself; 湾岸 is the land along it. 海岸 means seashore generally, so it is not interchangeable in every context.
Try it yourself
Write the reading of 湾岸 in hiragana.
Show answer or example answer
わんがん
湾岸 is わんがん: 湾 is わん and 岸 is がん in this compound. It means the bay shore.
Write the reading of 東京湾 in hiragana.
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とうきょうわん
東京湾 is とうきょうわん: add わん to 東京（とうきょう） to name Tokyo Bay.
Choose the missing kanji: ＿岸（わんがん）［湾／海］.
Show answer or example answer
湾
湾 completes 湾岸（わんがん）, the shore of a bay. 海岸（かいがん） instead means seashore.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Write the reading of 湾岸 in hiragana.
Write the reading of 東京湾 in hiragana.
Choose the missing kanji: ＿岸（わんがん）［湾／海］.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write 湾 using the diagram, cover the table, then read 湾岸 and 東京湾. Make a sentence about a bay.