Meanings
nounshinkansen (plural shinkansen or shinkansens)
plural shinkansens
- rail transportA Japanese high-speed railway line.
- rail transportA high-speed passenger train which runs on such a line; a bullet train.
East Japan Railway Co., known as JR East, this week unveiled its newest luxury shinkansen cars featuring ashiyu, in which passengers can soak their tired feet while speeding through the beautiful, mountainous, hot-spring-rich region.
2014 July 2, Yoko Sudo, “Luxury Shinkansen Train to Feature Foot Baths”, in The Wall Street Journal
Origin
From Japanese 新(しん)幹(かん)線(せん) (shinkansen, literally “new trunk line”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Spanish shinkansen
- shinkansenbullet train
Cite this entry
APA
shinkansen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shinkansen
MLA
“shinkansen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shinkansen. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shinkansen,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shinkansen.
Source: shinkansen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.