# tsunami
## English
### 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: /(t)suːˈnɑːmi/; enPR: (t)so͞o-nä'mi
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (Canada) IPA: /(t)suˈnæmi/, /(t)suˈnɑmi/
* Rhymes: -ɑːmi

### Noun

tsunami (plural tsunami or tsunamis)
* 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).
** 2007 February 20, Tina Kelley, “A Wet Wind Tunnel So Ships Can Move Faster and Better”, in The New York Times‎:A wave simulator in the tank can re-enact tsunamis and northeasters, and imitate wave conditions from midocean.
* (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
### 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: /tsuˈnami/ [t̪s̪ʊˈn̪a.mɪ]

### Noun

tsunami
* tsunami

## Czech
### Alternative forms

* cunami

### Etymology

Derived from Japanese.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈt͡sunamɪ]
* Hyphenation: tsu‧na‧mi

### Noun

tsunami f (indeclinable)
* tsunami

### Further reading

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

## Danish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 津波.

### Noun

tsunami
* tsunami

#### Declension
## Dutch
### Etymology

From Japanese 津波.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tsuˈnaːmi/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

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

#### Hypernyms

* vloedgolf

## Finnish
### Etymology

From Japanese 津波.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtsunɑmi/, [ˈts̠unɑ̝mi]
* Rhymes: -unɑmi
* Hyphenation: tsu‧na‧mi

### Noun

tsunami
* tsunami

#### Declension

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

* tsunamiaalto
* tsunamivaara
* tsunamivaroitus

### Further reading

* “tsunami”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (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: /tsy.na.mi/, /tsu.na.mi/
* Audio (France):(file)
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

tsunami m (plural tsunamis)
* 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: /su.na.mi/, /tsu.na.mi/
* Hyphenation: tsu‧na‧mi

### Noun

tsunami (plural tsunami-tsunami)
* 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)
* tsunami

## Japanese
### Romanization

tsunami
* Rōmaji transcription of つなみ

## Malay
### Etymology

From Japanese 津波.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /sunami/, /tsunami/

### Noun

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

### References

* “tsunami” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from English tsunami.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tsuˈna.mi/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ami
* Syllabification: tsu‧na‧mi

### Noun

tsunami n (indeclinable)
* (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
* (figurative) tsunami (violent event that changes or completely shatters the previous state of something)
    Synonym: tornado
* (figurative) tsunami, flood (appearance of some emotion, behavior, or phenomenon in large quantities or in high intensity) [with genitive]
    Synonyms: natłok, tornado
* (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: /tsuˈnɐ̃.mi/, /t͡ʃi.suˈnɐ̃.mi/
* (Brazil) IPA: /tsuˈnɐ̃.mi/, /t͡ʃi.suˈnɐ̃.mi/
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /tsuˈnɐ.me/, /t͡ʃi.suˈnɐ.me/
* (Portugal) IPA: /tsuˈnɐ.mi/
* Hyphenation: tsu‧na‧mi

### Noun

tsunami m (plural tsunamis)
* Alternative spelling of tsunâmi

## Spanish
### Alternative forms

* sunami

### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /suˈnami/ [suˈna.mi], /tsuˈnami/ [t̪suˈna.mi]
* Rhymes: -ami
* Syllabification: tsu‧na‧mi

### Noun

tsunami m (plural tsunamis)
* 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

### References

* 1 2 “tsunami, mejor que sunami”, in FundéuRAE (Fundación del Español Urgente) [Foundation of Urgent Spanish] (in Spanish), Agencia EFE; Real Academia Española, 2011 April 2

### 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)
* tsunami (very large and destructive wave)
** 2023 February 7, “Haya ndio matetemeko matano makubwa zaidi kuwahi kutokea duniani”, in BBC News Swahili‎: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.
* tsunami (large and generally unstoppable surge)
** 2021 December 24, “Habari njema na mbaya kuhusu Omicron zina maana gani kwetu?”, in BBC News Swahili‎:Dunia imepigwa na tsunami ya Omicron.The world is hit by an Omicron tsunami.

## Swedish
### Etymology

From Japanese.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /(t)sʉːˈnɑːmɪ/, /(t)sɵˈnɑːmɪ/

### Noun

tsunami c
* tsunami

#### 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: /t͡ʃuˈnami/ [t͡ʃʊˈn̪aː.mɪ]
** IPA: (no yod coalescence) /tsuˈnami/ [t͡sʊˈn̪aː.mɪ]
* Rhymes: -ami
* Syllabification: tsu‧na‧mi

### Noun

tsunami (Baybayin spelling ᜆ᜔ᜐᜓᜈᜋᜒ)
* 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: /t(u).su.ˈnɑ.mi/
* Hyphenation: tsu‧na‧mi

### Noun

tsunami (definite accusative tsunamiyi, plural tsunamiler)
* 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