Elemental Kanji: Water 水, Fire 火, Earth 土, Wood 木, Metal 金
The five elemental kanji also name the days of the week and dozens of everyday words. Learn 水火土木金 with readings and the words they unlock.
Water, fire, earth, wood, and metal — the five classical elements — are among the most useful kanji in Japanese because they double as the days of the week and seed countless compounds.
The five elements and their weekdays
| Kanji | Element | On'yomi | Weekday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 水 | Water | sui | 水曜日 (Wednesday) |
| 火 | Fire | ka | 火曜日 (Tuesday) |
| 土 | Earth | do | 土曜日 (Saturday) |
| 木 | Wood | moku | 木曜日 (Thursday) |
| 金 | Metal/Gold | kin | 金曜日 (Friday) |
Everyday words from each
- 水 → 水曜日 (Wed), 水道 (suidō, tap water), 水泳 (suiei, swimming).
- 火 → 火事 (kaji, fire/blaze), 花火 (hanabi, fireworks), 火山 (kazan, volcano).
- 土 → 土地 (tochi, land), 土産 (omiyage, souvenir — irregular reading!).
- 木 → 木曜日 (Thu), 木材 (mokuzai, lumber), 大木 (taiboku, big tree).
- 金 → お金 (okane, money), 金曜日 (Fri), 金魚 (kingyo, goldfish).
Spot the radicals
水 becomes the three-stroke 氵 radical on the left of water-related kanji (海 sea, 河 river, 泳 swim). 火 becomes 灬 at the bottom (照 shine, 熱 hot). Recognizing these radicals lets you guess the meaning of unfamiliar kanji at a glance.
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