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湖 hú

noun
: lake

Kun Reading

湖 | みずうみ mizuumi

noun
: lake

On Reading

湖 | こ ko

suffix
: lake (in place names)

ゴ go

 Usage:

湖泊 hu2po1: lake
湖南 hu2nan2: Hunan province in south central China, abbr. 湘, capital Changsha 长沙
[こなん konan OR こなみ konami]
湖北 hu2bei3: Hubei Province (Hupeh) in central China, abbr. 鄂, capital Wuhan 武汉
[こほく kohoku]
湖滨 hu2bin1: lake front; Lakeside district; Hubin district of Sanmenxia city 三门峡市, Henan
江湖 jiang1hu2: rivers and lakes; around the whole country; cf 两江 and 两湖, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan provinces in Qing times
: vagrant; itinerant (esp. entertainer, swindler, quack doctor etc)
 
[こうこ kouko: the public; the world OR ごうこ gouko: Zen disciples]



Chinese expression | chengyu 成語 | idiom
湖光山色 hu2 guang1 shan1 se4
: scenic lakes and mountain; beautiful lake and mountain landscape

浪跡江湖 [浪迹江湖] lang4 ji4 jiang1 hu2
: to roam far and wide; to drift with the wind

五湖四海 wu3 hu2 si4 hai3
: all over the world; everywhere under the sun

人在江湖,身不由己 ren2 zai4 jiang1 hu2 , shen1 bu4 you2 ji3
: you can’t always do as you like; one has to compromise in this world

 Etymology:


形声 Pictophonetic.
(shui3: water radical 85) suggests the meaning while
(hu2: reckless) provides the sound.



 Examples:

琵琶湖が見えてきた。
びわこがみえてきた biwako ga mietekita
Lake Biwa came in sight.



那個湖凍冰了。
na4ge hu2 dong4bing1 le
That lake was frozen.

Resources: Chinese Dictionary | Japanese Dictionary