66117
This sentence comes from goo here:
[https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/en/見える/](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/en/%E8%A6%8B%E3%81%88%E3%82%8B/)

> 地平線上に一隻の船が見えてきた。  
>  A boat appeared on the horizon.

When I was attempting to assign the characters their correct readings,

> ちへいせんじょうにいっせきのふねがみえてきた

I found on wwwjdic that "horizon" is two words in Japanese:

> 地平線 【ちへいせん】 horizon (related to land)
>
> 水平線 【すいへいせん】 horizon (related to sea or lakes)

My question: Is goo wrong, or can a ship appear on a (land) horizon?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-20T08:56:18.520
66115
2019-03-20T12:21:38.523
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
31150
question
usage
Distinction between 地平線 【ちへいせん】 and 水平線 【すいへいせん】
Yes that's right.

「地平線」 is the horizon on land (the land and the sky seem to be connected).

「水平線」 is the horizon on the sea, or at least when the sea is in front of you
(the sea and the sky seem to be connected).

Regarding your question "Can a ship appear on a (land) horizon?", there is an
important point to state, and that is「地平線」 can be used anytime to describe a
horizon even if it was a "Sea horizon", but the opposite isn't true.
Therefore, 「地平線」 may have been used in 「地平線上に一隻の船が見えてきた。」to replace 「水平線」, or
that the boat actually appeared in a land horizon (coming from a distant port
for example).
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-20T10:09:50.650
66116
2019-03-20T10:09:50.650
31935
66115
answer
You may think of a relationship similar to that of [少年/少女, 俳優/女優 or
兄弟/姉妹](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/28041/5010).

```

       地平線
    　 ／   ＼
    地平線  水平線
    
```

According to the Wikipedia
[definition](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9C%B0%E5%B9%B3%E7%B7%9A), 水平線
is an alternative name of 地平線 used when the surface is watery:

> 地表面が海などの水面であれば、水平線と **も** 呼ばれる。

In that example, 水平線 is more specific and usually better, but 地平線 is not
necessarily wrong, either.

(Also, I think it's technically possible to see a ship coming out from behind
an island.)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-20T11:35:25.897
66117
2019-03-20T12:21:38.523
2019-03-20T12:21:38.523
5010
5010
66115
answer