Kanji: 川

    • Meaning : stream,river,"river or 3-stroke river radical (no. 47)"
    • ON reading : セン
    • KUN reading : かわ
    • Nanori : か,こ,さわ
    • Stroke count : 3
    • Frequency of use ranking : 181
    • Jouyou grade level : 1
    • JLPT : 4
    • Radical : 巛 (川, 巜)

Words containing that kanji:


  • かにれる - ふかいかわはしずかにながれる - Deep water runs still
  • かにれるい - しずかにながれるかわはふかい - Still waters run deep
  • | - かわらげ - buckskin (horse color)
  • めし | - ふかがわめし - fukagawa-meshi/rice cooked with clams
  • ライン - ラインがわ - (river) Rhine
  • - あべかわもち - rice cakes (mochi) with Kinako
  • - かせん - rivers
  • いさら | いささ | - いささがわ | いさらがわ - trickling brook
  • | - こうほね | かわほね | コウホネ - Japanese spatterdock (species of water lily, Nuphar japonica)
  • - いっきゅうかせん - class A river (specified waterways of special importance protected by the government)
  • | いさら | いささ - いささおがわ | いさらおがわ - trickling brook
  • - かわもずく | カワモズク - Batrachospermum gelatinosum (species of red alga)
  • - かがわけん - Kagawa prefecture (Shikoku)
  • - しせんりょうり - Szechuan cuisine/Sichuan cuisine
  • る - えがわる - to (try to) act like a big-shot
  • - みたらしがわ - river in which worshippers wash their hands (and rinse their mouth) prior to entering a shrine
  • - はらえがわ - river in which worshippers purify themselves before praying
  • - よしかわしんとう - Yoshikawa Shinto (Confucianist form of Shinto, stripped of Buddhist influence)
  • | - かわねずみ | カワネズミ - Japanese water shrew (Chimarrogale platycephala)
  • - さんせん | やまかわ - mountains and rivers
  • - しせん - Sichuan (China)/Szechuan/Szechwan
  • - さんずのかわ - Sanzu River (Buddhist equivalent of the River Styx)
  • - よこがわきゅうちゅう - Metagonimus yokogawai (species of intestinal fluke)
  • - かわへび - Asian swamp eel (Monopterus albus)
  • - かわす - sandbank in a river
  • - かわげら | カワゲラ - stonefly (any insect of order Plecoptera, esp. those of family Perlidae)
  • - かわむし - aquatic insect larva (esp. of caddisflies, mayflies, etc.)
  • | - かわやつめ | カワヤツメ - arctic lamprey (Lethenteron japonicum)
  • | - かわう | カワウ - great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
  • - おがわ - streamlet/brook
  • - とくがわじだい - Tokugawa period (i.e. the Edo period, 1600-1867 CE)
  • - とくがわばくふ - Tokugawa shogunate (i.e. the Edo shogunate, 1603-1867)
  • - かながわけん - Kanagawa prefecture (Kantou area)
  • | - かわらひわ | カワラヒワ - Oriental greenfinch (Carduelis sinica)
  • - みやまがわとんぼ | ミヤマガワトンボ - Calopteryx cornelia (species of damselfly)
  • - いしかわけん - Ishikawa prefecture (Hokuriku area)
  • | - かわ | がわ - river/stream | the .... river/(suffix used with the names of rivers)
  • | - かわぎし | かがん | かし - river bank/riverside | fish market
  • - せんりゅう - comic haiku
  • | - かわたけ - bamboo growing along a river bank | Japanese timber bamboo (Phyllostachys bambsoides)/giant timber bamboo/madake | Simon bamboo (Pleioblastus simonii) | prostitute/the life of a prostitute
  • - かわしも - downstream
  • - かわばた - riverbank
  • 沿い - かわぞい - along the river/riverside
  • | | - かわせみ | ひすい | しょうびん | カワセミ - kingfisher (esp. the common kingfisher, Alcedo atthis) | jade
  • - かわのおも - river surface
  • - かわかみ - upper reaches of a river
  • | - かわうそ | うそ | おそ | だつ | カワウソ - otter (esp. the Japanese river otter, Lutra lutra whiteleyi)
  • - たにがわ - mountain stream
  • - たきがわ - rapids
  • - かわさき - Kawasaki (city)
  • - てんじょうがわ - river raised above the surrounding land
  • | - かわとんぼ | カワトンボ - broad-winged damselfly (of family Calopterygidae)
  • - ひがわ | ひがあ - (water) spring
  • | | - しらかわよふね | しらかわよぶね - being fast asleep (and totally unaware of what is going on around one) | know-it-all manner
  • 便 - さがわきゅうびん - Sagawa Express (parcel delivery company)
  • - ほりかわ - canal
  • - かわさきしちぶ - type of baggy tobi trousers with the baggy part taking up seven-tenths of the full length of the trouser leg
  • - やながわなべ - soup prepared with dojou
  • - すみだがわはなびたいかい - Sumida River Firework Festival (Tokyo)
  • り - かわづり - river fishing
  • | - かこう | かわぐち - mouth of river/estuary
  • - かわなみ - ripples on a river
  • - かわづら | かわも - river surface
  • | - あまのがわ | あまのかわ - Milky Way
  • ボルガ - ボルガがわ - Volga (River)
  • | - かわら | かわはら - dry river bed/river beach
  • | - ふるかわ - old river
  • - かせんしき | かせんじき - (dry) riverbed
  • - えどがわ - Edo River
  • - かわべ - riverside/edge of a river
  • - かわすじ - course of a river/land along a river
  • - かわどこ - riverbed
  • - かわうお | かわざかな - river fish/freshwater fish
  • - かわせがき - Buddhist services in memory of those drowned in a river/offering to suffering spirits at the river
  • - かわせ - rapids/shallows of a river
  • - かわぞこ - riverbed
  • られてしくなる - かわはみられてうつくしくなる - take care of the river and it becomes beautiful
  • - あばれがわ - river which often overflows its banks
  • | | - わらいかわせみ | ワライカワセミ - laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)
  • - さんせんばんり - being far away across mountains and rivers
  • - さんせんそうもく - nature/natural scenery
  • べり | - かわべり - riverbank/riverside
  • - よどがわ - river in Osaka Prefecture
  • ガンビア - ガンビアがわ - Gambia
  • | - かわいるか | カワイルカ - river dolphin
  • - かせんこうがく - river engineering
  • - かせんこうじ - riparian works
  • - たまがわ - river running between Tokyo-to and Kanagawa Prefecture
  • れ - かっぱのかわながれ - anyone can make a mistake/even Homer sometimes nods
  • アマゾン - アマゾンがわ - Amazon River
  • り - かわくだり - going downstream (in a boat)
  • かい - かわむかい - across a river
  • - かわあいさ - common merganser
  • え - かわごえ - crossing a river
  • - かわぶち - riverside
  • - きそがわ - river in Gifu Prefecture
  • め - かわどめ - suspension of ferry service
  • り - かわあかり - glow of river in darkness
  • - かわうおりょうり - freshwater fish cuisine
  • し - かわごし - crossing a river
  • - かわえび - crawfish
  • - かわじり - mouth of a river/lower stream
  • - かわかぜ - breeze off a river
  • び - かわあそび - boating or swimming in a river
  • き - かわびらき - festival marking the start of boating season
  • - かわぎり - river mist
  • い - かわづたい - following a river
  • | | - かわやなぎ | かわやぎ - riverside willow (esp. rosegold pussy willow)
  • - かわはば - width of a river
  • - かわじ - river's course
  • - いまがわやき - Japanese muffin containing bean jam, served hot
  • - かわぶね - riverboat/rivercraft
  • - ふじかわ - river in Shizuoka Prefecture
  • - どぶがわ - ditch with running water
  • こう - かわむこう - to be on the other side of a river
  • からく - かわからみずをひく - to draw water off a river
  • - やまがわ - mountain rivers
  • れ - かわながれ - being carried away by a current
  • かる - かわにかかるはし - bridge spanning a river
  • る - かわをくだる - to descend a river
  • える - かわをこえる - to cross a river
  • - とくがわぜい - Tokugawa forces
  • - とくがわけ - the House of Tokugawa/the Tokugawas
  • - とくがわがた - Tokugawa's side