One of the best Japanese Kanji dictionary.

Share this page

Kanji Detail for 水 - "water, waterways, to draw water"

水

  • Meaning

    水 means "water, waterways, to draw water."

    1. Water - A transparent liquid essential for life.

    2. Waterways - Rivers, ponds, lakes, seas.

    3. To draw water - To fetch water; to do water-related work.

    4. Water element - One of the five elements; associated with the north direction and the color black.

    5. Wednesday - One of the seven days of the week.

    6. Interference - To obstruct; to throw cold water on something.

  • Words using 水

    • 水準 すいじゅん Listen level; standard; water level
    • 水道 すいどう Listen water supply; water service; waterworks
    • 水面 すいめん Listen water's surface
    • 水泳 すいえい Listen swimming
    • 水田 すいでん Listen (water-filled) paddy field
    • 水俣病 みなまたびょう Listen Minamata disease
    • 水産 すいさん Listen aquatic products; fisheries
    • 水質 すいしつ Listen water quality

  • Four-character idioms with 水

    • 一衣帯水 いちいたいすい Listen (being separated only by a) narrow strip of water; narrow strait (channel, river)
    • 千山万水 せんざんばんすい Listen many mountains and rivers; a great distance to travel
    • 山容水態 さんようすいたい Listen scenic beauty of mountains and streams; fresh and clear beauty of nature's splendor
    • 山紫水明 さんしすいめい Listen scenic beauty
    • 我田引水 がでんいんすい Listen seeking one's own interests; straining (the interpretation or argument) to suit one's own interests; drawing water for one's own field
    • 明鏡止水 めいきょうしすい Listen clear and serene (as a polished mirror and still water)

  • Origin of 水

    A pictograph of flowing water: the central current with drops breaking off along both banks.

    How to remember it: A river's central current with spray flying off both sides — running water.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 水

    • Verified meaning: water, waterways, to draw water
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read あおい, あくあ, いお, すい)

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 水

    Given names 水(あおい)Listen 水(あくあ)Listen 水(いお)Listen 水(すい)Listen 水(みず)Listen 水(みずき)Listen

    Surnames 水(みずあらい)Listen 水(みずさき)Listen 水(みずざき)Listen 水(みずたか)Listen 水(みずつぎ)Listen 水(みずはい)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    water

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    water, liquid, lotion, juice

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    surname Shui

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    water, liquid, lotion, juice

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    A colorless, odorless liquid essential for daily use. Mencius says: "The people cannot live without water and fire" (民非水火不生活). | Rivers, streams, and springs—anything formed by water is called 水. Its peaceful flow providing navigation and irrigation is called water benefits (水利). Its flooding is called water disaster (水患). | Mercury (water planet). One of the planets. Its orbit is closest to the sun. | The purity of silver varies. Adjusting its value accordingly is colloquially called 水. As in 申水, 貼水 (exchange rates).

  • Onyomi

    tip

    sui(スイ) スイ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    mizu(みず) みず

  • Strokes

    tip

    4 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    水 氵 氺 (mizu・sanzui・shitamizu)

  • Related Keywords

    water waterways to draw water interference wednesday fluid liquid aquatic clear condensation dew drink flow fountain hydration ice irrigation marine moist ocean pure rain river steam stream swim

Sentences including 水

  • The water cooler is out of order.

  • I helped my father water the flowers.

  • He asked for a drink of water.

  • They dashed water into my face.

  • This water is good to drink.

  • There is not a drop of water left.

  • There was nothing but water as far as the eye could reach.

  • Swimming is good exercise.

  • There was no water in the well.

  • The water came up to his waist.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 水 氵 氺 (mizu・sanzui・shitamizu)

See all kanji with this radical →

Share This Page

Share this link via

Or copy link