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JLPT N213画 · 13 strokesradical 水freq #1522

slippery, smooth, slide

On'yomi (音読み)

  • カツ
  • コツ

Kun'yomi (訓読み)

  • なめ.らか
  • すべ.る

Mnemonic

As water (水) glides smoothly (滑) over ice, everything feels slippery and effortless in motion.

About this kanji

The kanji 滑, pronounced as "katsu" or "kotsu" in on'yomi and "nameraka" or "suberu" in kun'yomi, primarily means slippery, smooth, or to slide. It is often used as a verb, as in the compound 滑る (suberu), which means 'to slide' or 'to skate.' You also see it in 滑走 (kassou), meaning 'gliding,' and 滑らか (nameraka), which translates to 'smooth' and can describe textures or surfaces. Additionally, 滑稽 (kokkei) means 'funny,' highlighting playful aspects. An important note is that 滑 is often associated with physical movement, so it can convey both literal and metaphorical smoothness.

Built from

Example sentences

  • 氷で滑ってしまった。

    I slipped on the ice.

Meanings across languages

English
slippery, smooth, slide
Tiếng Việt
trơn, mượt, trượt
日本語
滑らか, 滑る
한국어
미끄럽다, 부드럽다, 미끄러지다
中文
光滑, 顺滑, 滑动
id
licin, halus, seluncur
th
ลื่น, เรียบ, เลื่อน
es
resbaladizo, suave, deslizar
fr
glissant, lisse, glisser
de
rutschig, glatt, gleiten
pt
escorregadio, liso, deslizar

Common compounds

  • 滑走かっそうgliding, sliding
  • 滑らかなめらかsmooth, sleek
  • 滑稽こっけいfunny, comical

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