湧く

• Reading: わく
• Romaji: waku
• Kanji breakdown: 湧 (yū/wa) — boil, spring forth, well up
• Pronunciation: /wa.kɯ/

Meaning

To well up; to spring forth; to boil. For water, emotions, or ideas rising up from within.

A Group 1 (godan) intransitive verb conjugated with the く row. Used for water springing from a source (温泉が湧く = a hot spring wells up), emotions arising (勇気が湧く = courage wells up), and ideas occurring (アイデアが湧く = ideas spring to mind). Also used for insects swarming (虫が湧く). Conveys something emerging naturally from below.

Examples

1. この山からきれいな水が湧いている。 Clean water is welling up from this mountain.
2. 応援を聞いて勇気が湧いてきた。 Hearing the cheers, I felt courage welling up inside me.
3. いいアイデアが次々と湧いてきた。 Good ideas kept springing to mind one after another.

Usage Guide

Context: nature, emotions, creative thinking

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

The kanji 湧 combines 氵 (water radical) and 勇 (courage/bravery), originally depicting water surging up bravely from the earth.

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal