浮き輪

浮き輪

Japanese

浮き輪 (ukiwa): a lifebuoy for emergency use.

浮き輪 (ukiwa): a child's swim ring for play use.

Kanji in this term
浮	輪
う(き) Grade: S	わ Grade: 4
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
浮輪

Etymology

Compound of 浮き (uki, “floating”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 浮く (uku, “to float”)) +‎ 輪 (wa, “ring”).[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) うきわ [ùkíwá] (Heiban – [0])[3]
• IPA^(key): [ɯ̟ᵝkʲiɰᵝa̠]

Noun

浮(う)き輪(わ) • (ukiwa) 

1. a life-buoy, a life ring, a ring buoy
2. a swim ring
   • 1991 March 15, Takahashi, Rumiko, “ＰＡＲＴ(パート).５(ご)　水(みず)の中(なか)の根(こん)性(じょう) [Part 5: Spirit in the Water]”, in らんま½ [Ranma ½], volume 14 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 84:

     おい…ウキワでもダメなのか…⁉

     Oi… Ukiwa de mo dame na no ka…⁉

     Hey… You can’t float even with a swim ring…!?

Usage notes

The term 浮袋 (ukibukuro, literally “float bag”) might be more commonly used in reference to a life-saving emergency flotation device.

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
3. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN