water

Origin & mnemonic

The water radical originates from a pictograph depicting flowing water. In seal script, it consists of three vertical strokes (representing streams of water) with a horizontal stroke in the middle (indicating the water surface), forming a wave-like shape.

Mnemonic: Three lines piercing through the middle represent three streams of water flowing across a wave's surface.

• 泸lú🔊

  old name of a river in Jiangxi

  8 strokes

• 泺luò🔊

  name of a river

  8 strokes

• 泻xiè🔊

  to flow out swiftly

  HSK 7

  8 strokes

• 泾Jīng🔊

  Jing River

  8 strokes

• 派pài🔊

  (literary) tributary; branch of a river

  HSK 3

  9 strokes

• 活huó🔊

  to live

  HSK 3

  9 strokes

• 洗xǐ🔊

  to wash; to bathe

  HSK 1

  9 strokes

• 洞dòng🔊

  cave

  HSK 5

  9 strokes

• 洛luò🔊

  used in transliteration

  9 strokes

• 洱ěr🔊

  see 洱海[Er3 hai3]

  9 strokes

• 洒sǎ🔊

  to sprinkle

  HSK 5

  9 strokes

• 洪hóng🔊

  flood

  9 strokes

• 浓nóng🔊

  concentrated

  HSK 4

  9 strokes

• 洁jié🔊

  clean

  9 strokes

• 泵bèng🔊

  pump (loanword)

  9 strokes

• 浇jiāo🔊

  to pour liquid

  HSK 7

  9 strokes

• 泉quán🔊

  spring (small stream)

  HSK 5

  9 strokes

• 洲zhōu🔊

  continent

  9 strokes

• 津jīn🔊

  saliva

  9 strokes

• 洋yáng🔊

  ocean

  HSK 6

  9 strokes

• 洸guāng🔊

  sparkling water

  9 strokes

• 测cè🔊

  to survey

  HSK 4

  9 strokes

• 洄huí🔊

  eddying

  9 strokes

• 浑hún🔊

  muddy; turbid

  9 strokes

• 㳘chōng🔊

  (literary) (of a mountain stream) to flow down

  9 strokes

• 泚cǐ🔊

  clear

  9 strokes

• 洇yīn🔊

  to soak

  9 strokes

• 洊jiàn🔊

  flowing water

  9 strokes

• 洌liè🔊

  pure

  9 strokes

• 洎jì🔊

  to reach

  9 strokes

• 洏ér🔊

  to flow (as water or tears)

  9 strokes

• 洑fú🔊

  undercurrent eddy

  9 strokes

• 洙zhū🔊

  name of a river

  9 strokes

• 洚jiàng🔊

  flood

  9 strokes

• 洟tì🔊

  nasal mucus

  9 strokes

• 洢yī🔊

  old name of a river in Henan, now written 伊河

  9 strokes

• 洣Mǐ🔊

  Mi river in Hunan, tributary of Xiangjiang 湘江

  9 strokes

• 洧wěi🔊

  name of a river

  9 strokes

• 洨xiáo🔊

  (Tw) (vulgar) semen (from Taiwanese 潲, Tai-lo pr. [siâu])

  9 strokes

• 洫xù🔊

  to ditch

  9 strokes

• 洭kuāng🔊

  ancient name of a river 洭河[Kuang1 He2] in present-day Guangdong

  9 strokes

• 洮táo🔊

  to cleanse

  9 strokes

• 洳rù🔊

  damp

  9 strokes

• 洴píng🔊

  wash

  9 strokes

• 洵xún🔊

  truly

  9 strokes

• 洹huán🔊

  name of a river

  9 strokes

• 洺míng🔊

  name of a river

  9 strokes

• 洼wā🔊

  variant of 窪|洼[wa1]

  9 strokes