池畔

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 池畔 is a noun read ちはん, referring to the edge or shore of a pond in a somewhat literary register.
• Basic usage: Use 池畔を歩く when the pondside is a route of movement and 池畔のベンチ for an object located there.
  • 朝の池畔を歩くと、水鳥の声が聞こえました。 describes hearing waterbirds while walking along the pond in the morning; 池畔のベンチで風景を写生しました。 describes sketching the scenery from a pondside bench.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 池畔を歩く
  • を marks the route traversed by the walking action; it is not a direct object affected by the action.
• 池畔のベンチ
  • の identifies the bench by its location at the pondside.
• 池畔 and 池のそば
  • Both refer to a place near a pond, but 池畔 is a compact term suited to written or scenic description, while 池のそば is an everyday paraphrase.