湾 and 半島: water extending inland and land extending into water
Compare a harbor inside a bay with a lighthouse at a peninsula’s tip, distinguishing water and land on a map.
A part of the sea extending inland
湾, read わん, means a bay where the sea extends into the land. 湾の奥に港があります。 places a harbor in the inner part of the bay.
湾に船が入ってきました。 says that a boat came into the bay. 船 is what moved, and 湾 is the body of water entered.
Land projecting into water
半島, read はんとう, means a peninsula projecting into a sea or other body of water. 半島の先端に灯台があります。 places a lighthouse at its tip.
半島の両側に海が見えます。 says that the sea is visible on both sides of the peninsula. It describes the view without denying its land connection.
Separating water and land on a map
湾の水面と半島の土地 contrasts the bay’s water surface with the peninsula’s land. Do not exchange the water extending inland with the land projecting outward.
湾を挟んで二つの町があります。 says that two towns are separated by the bay. 二つ counts the towns, not two bays.
Do 湾 and 半島 both mean land projecting into the sea?
Show the answer and why
No. 湾 is the part of the sea extending inland, while 半島 is land projecting into water.