Kanji Database
English
川

川 — readings, stroke count and radical

Stroke order

Stroke order data from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Meaning (Japanese)

  1. かわ。

Character meanings and origins come from the Japanese Wiktionary.

Origin of the character

象形。両岸の間を水が流れる様子を象る。「かわ」を意味する漢語｛川｝を表す字。

Character meanings and origins come from the Japanese Wiktionary.

Meaning

stream, river, river or three-stroke river radical (no. 47)

English glosses from KANJIDIC2.

Readings

On (Sino-Japanese)
  • センJHS
Kun (native)
  • かわElem.
Nanori (used in names)
  • か
  • こ
  • さわ
Other languages
  • 拼音chuan1
  • 한글cheon
  • Hán-ViệtXuyên

Labels show the school stage at which each Jōyō reading is taught.

Basics

Strokes
3 strokes
Radical
工(え)
JIS level
Level 1
JLPT (old scale)
Level 4
Unicode
U+5DDD

Components

Components this kanji is made of. Follow them to find similar kanji.

Composition (IDS): left–right ⿰丿〢

Words using this kanji

  • 川かわかわ。高所から低所に向かって、水がある道筋を流れる地形。river, stream, River, the ... river
  • 川上かわかみ「かわかみ」を参照。upper reaches of a river, upstream
  • 川柳せんりゅう滑稽、皮肉、風刺などをよんだ五七五（17文字）の短詩。senryū, comic haiku
  • 川端かわばたriverside, riverbank
  • 川沿いかわぞいalong the river, riverside
  • 川岸かわぎし「かわぎし」の漢字表記。riverbank, riverside
  • 川下かわしも「かわしも」を参照。downstream
  • 川崎かわさき川崎市。 姓氏の一つ。Kawasaki (city)
  • 川流れかわながれ「かわながれ」の漢字表記。being carried away by a current, drowning in a river, person who drowned in a river, cancellation
  • 川底かわぞこかわぞこ 参照riverbed
  • 川面かわもriver surface, surface of a river
  • 川辺かわべriverside, riverbank, edge of a river
  • 川尻かわじりmouth of a river, lower stream
  • 川瀬かわせrapids, shallows of a river
  • 川幅かわはばwidth of a river
  • 川路かわじriver's course
  • 川魚かわうおriver fish, freshwater fish
  • 川風かわかぜbreeze off a river
  • 川獺かわうそ「かわうそ」の漢字表記。otter (Lutra lutra), Japanese river otter (Lutra lutra whiteleyi)
  • 川筋かわすじcourse of a river, land along a river

Words starting with this kanji, most common first.

See all words containing this kanji(234 results)

Similar-looking kanji

Selected automatically by comparing composition (IDS). “Same composition” means the parts and their arrangement match.

Lookup codes

SKIP
1-1-2
Four Corner
2200.0
Spahn–Hadamitzky
0a3.2
Heisig
134
Nelson
1447