灯台

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 灯台 is a noun read とうだい for a lighthouse whose light guides vessels from a coast or cape.
• Basic usage: It describes a lighthouse visible at the tip of a cape or its light illuminating the sea at night.
  • 岬の先に白い灯台が見えます。 says that a white lighthouse is visible at the end of the cape; 夜になると灯台の光がゆっくり海を照らします。 describes its light slowly illuminating the sea at night.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 灯台が見える
  • が marks the lighthouse that is visible, while 岬の先に identifies its location.
• 灯台の光
  • の links the lighthouse to its light, while を in 海を照らす marks what the light illuminates.
• 灯台 and 街灯
  • 街灯(がいとう) is a light for a street or road, while 灯台 is a facility that signals position and direction at sea.