tsunami

See also: Tsunami and tsunâmi

English

A tsunami.

Alternative forms

• sunami (nonstandard)

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 津(つ)波(なみ) (tsunami), from 津 (tsu, “harbour”) +‎ 波 (nami, “wave”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /(t)suːˈnɑːmi/; enPR: (t)so͞o-nä'mi

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /(t)suˈnæmi/, /(t)suˈnɑmi/
• Rhymes: -ɑːmi

Noun

tsunami (plural tsunami or tsunamis)

1. A very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption; often a series of waves (a wave train).
2. (figurative) A large and generally unstoppable surge.
   • 2009, John Bernard Kelly, An Accidental Atheist: A Memoir, Aquinine books, →ISBN, page 306:

     It seemed that what started out as a handful of isolated cases gradually turned into a tsunami of complaints.

   • 2009, Marc Eliot, American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood, Crown Archetype, →ISBN, page 86:

     It set off a tsunami of debate among the more esoteric critics, who either loved it or hated it but could not ignore it.

   • 2012, Demetra M. Pappas, The Euthanasia/Assisted-Suicide Debate, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 60:

     The next decade would culminate in a tsunami of legislation, civil litigation, and criminal prosecutions in which assisted suicide was both criminalized (as in Michigan) and decriminalized (as in Oregon).

   • 2020 August 26, Nigel Harris, “Comment Special: Catastrophe at Carmont”, in Rail, page 4:

     The editor paid a heavy price - he was subsequently compelled to offer a grovelling and humiliating personal apology, following a tsunami of protest.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:tsunami.

Synonyms

• seismic sea wave
• tidal wave (usage conflict)

Derived terms

• fog tsunami
• ice tsunami
• megatsunami
• meteotsunami
• orphaned tsunami
• poonami
• silver tsunami
• teletsunami
• tsunameter
• tsunamic
• tsunamigenic
• tsunamilike
• tsunami wall

 

Translations

large, destructive wave generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean

• Acehnese: ië beuna, alôn buluëk
• Albanian: cunami
• Aneityum: najap̃ajap̃
• Arabic: تْسُونَامِي m (tsunāmī)

  Hijazi Arabic: تسونامي (tsūnāmi, tsunāmi)

• Armenian: ցունամի (hy) (cʻunami)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܨܘܼܢܵܡܝܼ m (ṣunami)
• Azerbaijani: sunami
• Basque: tsunami (eu)
• Belarusian: цуна́мі n (cunámi)
• Bengali: সুনামি (bn) (śunami)
• Bikol Central: dulnop
• Bulgarian: цуна́ми n (cunámi)
• Burmese: ဆူနာမီ (hcunami)
• Catalan: tsunami (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 海嘯 / 海啸 (hoi² siu³)

  Hokkien: 海漲 / 海涨 (hái-tiòng), chu-ná-mih

  Mandarin: 海嘯 / 海啸 (zh) (hǎixiào)

• Czech: tsunami (cs) f (indeclinable)
• Dairi Batak: gloro, galoro
• Danish: tsunami (da) c, flodbølge c
• Dutch: tsunami (nl) m, vloedgolf (nl) m
• Ende: ae mesi nuka tana lala
• Esperanto: cunamo
• Estonian: tsunami (et)
• Finnish: hyökyaalto (fi), tsunami (fi)
• French: tsunami (fr) m, raz-de-marée (fr) m
• Georgian: ცუნამი (cunami)
• German: Tsunami (de) m
• Greek: τσουνάμι (el) n (tsounámi)
• Hausa: tsùnāmī̀
• Hebrew: צוּנַמי (he) m (tsunámi)
• Hindi: सूनामी f (sūnāmī), सुनामी (hi) f (sunāmī)
• Hungarian: cunami (hu), szökőár (hu)
• Icelandic: flóðbylgja (is) f
• Ido: cunamio (io), tsunami (io)
• Indonesian: tsunami (id), semong
• Irish: súnámaí m
• Italian: tsunami (it) m, maremoto (it) m
• Japanese: 津波 (ja) (つなみ, tsunami), 津浪 (ja) (つなみ, tsunami), 海嘯 (ja) (かいしょう, kaishō)
• Kannada: ಸುನಾಮಿ (kn) (sunāmi)
• Kazakh: цунами (sunami)
• Khmer: ស៊ូណាមិ (suunaamiʼ)
• Korean: 지진해일(地震海溢) (ko) (jijinhaeil), 쓰나미 (ko) (sseunami), 해일(海溢) (ko) (haeil)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: tsunamî (ku) f

• Kyrgyz: цунами (ky) (tsunami)
• Lao: ຊູນາມິ (sū nā mi)
• Latin: maris mōtus (la) f (post-Classical)
• Latvian: cunami m
• Lithuanian: cunamis m
• Macedonian: цуна́ми n (cunámi)
• Malay: tsunami, semong
• Maori: parawhenua, tai āniwhaniwha
• Marathi: त्सुनामी f (tsunāmī), सुनामी f (sunāmī)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: цунами (mn) (cunami)

  Mongolian: ᠼᠦᠨᠠᠮᠢ (cünami)

• Navajo: tó nitéél nitságo atságáá
• Nias: oloro (nia)/galoro
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tsunami (no) m

  Nynorsk: flodbølgje f, tsunami m

• Odia: ସୁନାମି (sunāmi)
• Okinawan: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: آبْلَرْزه (âb-larze), سونامی (fa) (sunâmi)
• Polish: tsunami (pl) n
• Portuguese: tsunami (pt) m, maremoto (pt) m
• Punjabi: ਸੁਨਾਮੀ m or f (sunāmī)
• Romanian: tsunami (ro) n
• Russian: цуна́ми (ru) n (cunámi)
• Scottish Gaelic: tsunami f, tonn-tuile m, tonn-taomaidh m
• Serbo-Croatian: veleval m

  Cyrillic: цуна́ми m

  Roman: cunámi (sh) m

• Sikule: among, emong
• Simeulue: smong
• Sinhalese: සුනාමි (sunāmi)
• Slovak: cunami f or n, tsunami f or n
• Spanish: tsunami (es) m, maremoto (es) m
• Swahili: tsunami
• Swedish: tsunami (sv) c, flodvåg (sv) c
• Tagalog: tsunami
• Tajik: тсунами (tsunam-i), сунами (sunam-i)
• Tamil: ஆழிப்பேரலை (ta) (āḻippēralai), கடற்கோள் (ta) (kaṭaṟkōḷ), சுனாமி (ta) (cuṉāmi)
• Tatar: цунами (tsunami)
• Telugu: సునామి (sunāmi)
• Thai: สึนามิ (th) (sʉ̀-naa-mí), คลื่นยักษ์ (klʉ̂ʉn-yák)
• Turkish: tsunami (tr)
• Turkmen: sunami
• Ukrainian: цуна́мі (uk) n (cunámi)
• Urdu: سونامی f (sūnāmī)
• Uyghur: دېڭىز شاۋقۇنى (dë'ngiz shawquni)
• Uzbek: sunami (uz), tsunami
• Vietnamese: sóng thần (vi)
• Welsh: tsunami, tswnami m
• West Frisian: tsûnamy
• Yiddish: צונאַמי (tsunami)
• Zhuang: haijsiu

See also

• earthquake
• flood
• natural disaster
• seaquake
• seiche
• tidal wave
• tsunami earthquake
• waterquake

Further reading

• tsunami on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• tsunami on Wikiversity.Wikiversity
• Category:tsunami on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Anagrams

• Mustain, Natsumi, manitus, santimu, utinams

Cebuano

Etymology

Borrowed from English tsunami, borrowed from Japanese 津波(つなみ) (tsunami), from 津 (tsu, “harbor”) +‎ 波 (nami, “wave”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: tsu‧na‧mi
• IPA^(key): /tsuˈnami/ [t̪s̪ʊˈn̪a.mɪ]

Noun

tsunami

1. tsunami

Czech

Alternative forms

• cunami

Etymology

Derived from Japanese.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sunamɪ]
• Hyphenation: tsu‧na‧mi

Noun

tsunami f (indeclinable)

1. tsunami

Further reading

• “tsunami”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 津波.

Noun

tsunami

1. tsunami

Declension

Declension of tsunami

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	tsunami	tsunamien	tsunamier	tsunamierne
genitive	tsunamis	tsunamiens	tsunamiers	tsunamiernes

Dutch

Etymology

From Japanese 津波.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tsuˈnaːmi/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

tsunami m (plural tsunami's, diminutive tsunamietje n)

1. tsunami

Hypernyms

• vloedgolf

Finnish

Etymology

From Japanese 津波.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtsunɑmi/, [ˈts̠unɑ̝mi]
• Rhymes: -unɑmi
• Hyphenation^(key): tsu‧na‧mi

Noun

tsunami

1. tsunami

Declension

Inflection of tsunami (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		tsunami	tsunamit
genitive		tsunamin	tsunamien
partitive		tsunamia	tsunameja
illative		tsunamiin	tsunameihin
		singular	plural
nominative		tsunami	tsunamit
accusative	nom.	tsunami	tsunamit
	gen.	tsunamin
genitive		tsunamin	tsunamien
partitive		tsunamia	tsunameja
inessive		tsunamissa	tsunameissa
elative		tsunamista	tsunameista
illative		tsunamiin	tsunameihin
adessive		tsunamilla	tsunameilla
ablative		tsunamilta	tsunameilta
allative		tsunamille	tsunameille
essive		tsunamina	tsunameina
translative		tsunamiksi	tsunameiksi
abessive		tsunamitta	tsunameitta
instructive		—	tsunamein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of tsunami (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative tsunamini tsunamini accusative nom. tsunamini tsunamini gen. tsunamini genitive tsunamini tsunamieni partitive tsunamiani tsunamejani inessive tsunamissani tsunameissani elative tsunamistani tsunameistani illative tsunamiini tsunameihini adessive tsunamillani tsunameillani ablative tsunamiltani tsunameiltani allative tsunamilleni tsunameilleni essive tsunaminani tsunameinani translative tsunamikseni tsunameikseni abessive tsunamittani tsunameittani instructive — — comitative — tsunameineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative tsunamisi tsunamisi accusative nom. tsunamisi tsunamisi gen. tsunamisi genitive tsunamisi tsunamiesi partitive tsunamiasi tsunamejasi inessive tsunamissasi tsunameissasi elative tsunamistasi tsunameistasi illative tsunamiisi tsunameihisi adessive tsunamillasi tsunameillasi ablative tsunamiltasi tsunameiltasi allative tsunamillesi tsunameillesi essive tsunaminasi tsunameinasi translative tsunamiksesi tsunameiksesi abessive tsunamittasi tsunameittasi instructive — — comitative — tsunameinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative tsunamimme tsunamimme accusative nom. tsunamimme tsunamimme gen. tsunamimme genitive tsunamimme tsunamiemme partitive tsunamiamme tsunamejamme inessive tsunamissamme tsunameissamme elative tsunamistamme tsunameistamme illative tsunamiimme tsunameihimme adessive tsunamillamme tsunameillamme ablative tsunamiltamme tsunameiltamme allative tsunamillemme tsunameillemme essive tsunaminamme tsunameinamme translative tsunamiksemme tsunameiksemme abessive tsunamittamme tsunameittamme instructive — — comitative — tsunameinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative tsunaminne tsunaminne accusative nom. tsunaminne tsunaminne gen. tsunaminne genitive tsunaminne tsunamienne partitive tsunamianne tsunamejanne inessive tsunamissanne tsunameissanne elative tsunamistanne tsunameistanne illative tsunamiinne tsunameihinne adessive tsunamillanne tsunameillanne ablative tsunamiltanne tsunameiltanne allative tsunamillenne tsunameillenne essive tsunaminanne tsunameinanne translative tsunamiksenne tsunameiksenne abessive tsunamittanne tsunameittanne instructive — — comitative — tsunameinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative tsunaminsa tsunaminsa accusative nom. tsunaminsa tsunaminsa gen. tsunaminsa genitive tsunaminsa tsunamiensa partitive tsunamiaan tsunamiansa tsunamejaan tsunamejansa inessive tsunamissaan tsunamissansa tsunameissaan tsunameissansa elative tsunamistaan tsunamistansa tsunameistaan tsunameistansa illative tsunamiinsa tsunameihinsa adessive tsunamillaan tsunamillansa tsunameillaan tsunameillansa ablative tsunamiltaan tsunamiltansa tsunameiltaan tsunameiltansa allative tsunamilleen tsunamillensa tsunameilleen tsunameillensa essive tsunaminaan tsunaminansa tsunameinaan tsunameinansa translative tsunamikseen tsunamiksensa tsunameikseen tsunameiksensa abessive tsunamittaan tsunamittansa tsunameittaan tsunameittansa instructive — — comitative — tsunameineen tsunameinensa

Derived terms

compounds

• tsunamiaalto
• tsunamivaara
• tsunamivaroitus

 

Further reading

• “tsunami”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

Anagrams

• minusta, mitsuna, muistan, mustina

French

Etymology

From Japanese 津波 / 津浪 (つなみ, tsunami, “harbour wave”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tsy.na.mi/, /tsu.na.mi/

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

tsunami m (plural tsunamis)

1. tsunami

Derived terms

• mégatsunami
• météo-tsunami

 

Further reading

• “tsunami”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Indonesian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Japanese 津波(つなみ) (tsunami, “tsunami, tidal wave, tidal bore”), from 津 (tsu, “harbor”) +‎ 波 (nami, “wave”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /su.na.mi/, /tsu.na.mi/
• Hyphenation: tsu‧na‧mi

Noun

tsunami

1. tsunami: a very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption. Tsunami are usually a series of waves, or wave train.

   Synonym: semong

Further reading

• “tsunami” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 津波(つなみ) (tsunami).

Noun

tsunami m (invariable)

1. tsunami

Japanese

Romanization

tsunami

1. Rōmaji transcription of つなみ

Malay

Etymology

From Japanese 津波.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sunami/, /tsunami/

Noun

tsunami (Jawi spelling تسونامي, plural tsunami-tsunami, informal 1st possessive tsunamiku, 2nd possessive tsunamimu, 3rd possessive tsunaminya)

1. tsunami.

Further reading

• “tsunami” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Japanese 津波 (tsunami), via English tsunami.

Noun

tsunami m (definite singular tsunamien, indefinite plural tsunamier, definite plural tsunamiene)

1. a tsunami

References

• “tsunami” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “tsunami” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Japanese 津波 (tsunami), via English tsunami.

Noun

tsunami m (definite singular tsunamien, indefinite plural tsunamiar, definite plural tsunamiane)

1. a tsunami

References

• “tsunami” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

tsunami

Etymology

Borrowed from English tsunami.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tsuˈna.mi/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ami
• Syllabification: tsu‧na‧mi

Noun

tsunami n (indeclinable)

1. (oceanography) tsunami (very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption; often a series of waves (a wave train))

   Hypernym: fala

2. (figurative) tsunami (violent event that changes or completely shatters the previous state of something)

   Synonym: tornado

3. (figurative) tsunami, flood (appearance of some emotion, behavior, or phenomenon in large quantities or in high intensity) [with genitive]

   Synonyms: natłok, tornado

4. (figurative) tsunami, flood (huge number of people gathered in some place and moving to somewhere) [with genitive]

   Hypernym: fala

Further reading

• tsunami in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• tsunami in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• tsunami in PWN's encyclopedia

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Japanese, 津波(つなみ) (tsunami).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /tsuˈnɐ̃.mi/, /t͡ʃi.suˈnɐ̃.mi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /tsuˈnɐ̃.mi/, /t͡ʃi.suˈnɐ̃.mi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /tsuˈnɐ.me/, /t͡ʃi.suˈnɐ.me/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /tsuˈnɐ.mi/

• Hyphenation: tsu‧na‧mi

Noun

tsunami m (plural tsunamis)

1. Alternative spelling of tsunâmi

Spanish

Un tsunami arrasa en la costa japonesa. ― A tsunami devastates the Japanese coastline.

Alternative forms

• sunami

Etymology

Borrowed from English tsunami, from Japanese 津波 (tsunami, “harbour wave”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /suˈnami/ [suˈna.mi], /tsuˈnami/ [t̪suˈna.mi]
• Rhymes: -ami
• Syllabification: tsu‧na‧mi

Noun

tsunami m (plural tsunamis)

1. tsunami
   • 2001 [1999], Marco Cisternas V., transl., compiled by Brian F. Atwater et al., Sobreviviendo a un tsunami: lecciones de Chile, Hawai y Japón (U.S. Geological Survey Circular; 1218), translation of Surviving a Tsunami—Lessons From Chile, Hawaii, and Japan (in English), →ISBN, page 8:

     Durante el tsunami chileno de 1960, refugiarse en lugares altos y esperar allí salvó muchas vidas, no sólo en Chile, sino también en Onagawa, Japón […]. En este poblado, las destructivas olas […] alcanzaron alturas de hasta 4 metros.

     [original: Going to high ground and staying there helped save lives during the 1960 Chilean tsunami, not only in Chile but also in Onagawa, Japan […]. Damaging waves in Onagawa […] reached heights of 14 feet.]

Usage notes

Although maremoto and tsunami are sometimes used as synonyms, maremoto refers to the agitation of seawater due to an underwater earthquake (a seaquake) and tsunami refers to the great waves caused by said phenomenon.

Both tsunami and sunami are considered correct spellings by the Royal Spanish Academy, but tsunami is preferred and far more common.

See also

• marejada
• maremoto

 

Further reading

• “tsunami”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swahili

Etymology

Borrowed from English tsunami, from Japanese 津波 (tsunami).

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Noun

tsunami class IX (plural tsunami class X)

1. tsunami (very large and destructive wave)
   • 2023 February 7, “Haya ndio matetemeko matano makubwa zaidi kuwahi kutokea duniani”, in BBC News Swahili‎^[2]:

     Tsunami iliyofuatia tetemeko la ardhi iliathiri nchi 14 za Asia Kusini na Afrika Mashariki.

     The tsunami that followed the earthquake affected 14 countries in South Asia and East Africa.

2. tsunami (large and generally unstoppable surge)
   • 2021 December 24, “Habari njema na mbaya kuhusu Omicron zina maana gani kwetu?”, in BBC News Swahili‎^[3]:

     Dunia imepigwa na tsunami ya Omicron.

     The world is hit by an Omicron tsunami.

Swedish

Etymology

From Japanese.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /(t)sʉːˈnɑːmɪ/, /(t)sɵˈnɑːmɪ/

Noun

tsunami c

1. tsunami

Declension

Declension of tsunami

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	tsunami	tsunamis
	definite	tsunamin	tsunamins
plural	indefinite	tsunamier	tsunamiers
	definite	tsunamierna	tsunamiernas

Derived terms

• tsunamivåg

References

• tsunami in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• tsunami in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• tsunami in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English tsunami, from Japanese 津波(つなみ) (tsunami), from 津 (tsu, “harbor”) +‎ 波 (nami, “wave”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃuˈnami/ [t͡ʃʊˈn̪aː.mɪ]
  • IPA^(key): (no yod coalescence) /tsuˈnami/ [t͡sʊˈn̪aː.mɪ]
• Rhymes: -ami
• Syllabification: tsu‧na‧mi

Noun

tsunami (Baybayin spelling ᜆ᜔ᜐᜓᜈᜋᜒ)

1. tsunami

Further reading

• “tsunami”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Anagrams

• suminta

Turkish

Etymology

From Japanese 津波 (tsunami), from 津 (tsu, “harbor”) +‎ 波 (nami, “wave”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t(u).su.ˈnɑ.mi/
• Hyphenation: tsu‧na‧mi

Noun

tsunami (definite accusative tsunamiyi, plural tsunamiler)

1. a tsunami; a very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption