river

About this kanji

The kanji 「河」 primarily means "river." It is commonly used as a noun and is pronounced as "かわ" in native Japanese readings, while its Sino-Japanese readings are "カ" or "ガ." You can find it in several useful compounds, such as 「河川」 (かせん), which means "rivers and streams," and 「河口」 (かこう), referring to the "mouth of a river" where it meets the sea. Another example is 「内河」 (うちがわ), which means "inland river." A note to remember is that this kanji emphasizes bodies of flowing water, distinguishing it from other water-related kanji.

Built from

Example sentences

• この河は大きい。

  This river is large.

Meanings across languages

English

river

Tiếng Việt

sông

日本語

川

한국어

강

中文

河流

id

sungai

th

แม่น้ำ

es

río

fr

rivière

de

Fluss

pt

rio

Common compounds

• 河川かせんrivers and streams
• 河口かこうriver mouth
• 内河うちがわinland river