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.

• 没méi🔊

  (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not

  HSK 1

  7 strokes

• 求qiú🔊

  to seek

  HSK 2

  7 strokes

• 冲chōng🔊

  (of water) to dash against

  HSK 4

  7 strokes

• 沙shā🔊

  granule

  7 strokes

• 沉chén🔊

  to submerge

  HSK 4

  7 strokes

• 沃wò🔊

  fertile

  7 strokes

• 沅Yuán🔊

  Yuan river in Guizhou and Hunan

  7 strokes

• 沈shěn🔊

  (literary) juice

  7 strokes

• 汪wāng🔊

  expanse of water

  7 strokes

• 沧cāng🔊

  (bound form) (of water, esp. the ocean) deep blue-green

  7 strokes

• 沟gōu🔊

  ditch

  HSK 5

  7 strokes

• 沐mù🔊

  to bathe

  7 strokes

• 决jué🔊

  to decide

  7 strokes

• 汞gǒng🔊

  mercury (chemistry)

  7 strokes

• 沏qī🔊

  to steep (tea)

  HSK 7

  7 strokes

• 㲾yǔ🔊

  old variant of 雨[yu3]

  7 strokes

• 㳂yán🔊

  variant of 沿[yan2]

  7 strokes

• 㳇fù🔊

  (used in place names)

  7 strokes

• 汧qiān🔊

  marsh

  7 strokes

• 汨Mì🔊

  name of a river, the southern tributary of Miluo river 汨羅江|汨罗江[Mi4 luo2 jiang1]

  7 strokes

• 汩gǔ🔊

  confused

  7 strokes

• 汫jǐng🔊

  old variant of 阱[jing3]

  7 strokes

• 汭ruì🔊

  river-bend

  7 strokes

• 汰tài🔊

  to discard

  7 strokes

• 汳Biàn🔊

  name of an ancient river in Henan

  7 strokes

• 汴Biàn🔊

  name of a river in Henan

  7 strokes

• 汶Wèn🔊

  Wen River in northwest Sichuan (same as 汶川)

  7 strokes

• 汹xiōng🔊

  torrential rush

  7 strokes

• 汽qì🔊

  steam

  7 strokes

• 汾fén🔊

  name of a river

  7 strokes

• 沁qìn🔊

  to seep

  7 strokes

• 沂Yí🔊

  Yi River, Shandong

  7 strokes

• 沄yún🔊

  rushing of a torrent

  7 strokes

• 沆hàng🔊

  a ferry

  7 strokes

• 沇yǎn🔊

  old variant of 兗|兖[yan3]

  7 strokes

• 沌dùn🔊

  used in 混沌[hun4 dun4]

  7 strokes

• 沍hù🔊

  congealed

  7 strokes

• 沔miǎn🔊

  inundation

  7 strokes

• 沕wù🔊

  abstruse

  7 strokes

• 沘bǐ🔊

  name of a river

  7 strokes

• 沚zhǐ🔊

  islet

  7 strokes

• 沛pèi🔊

  copious

  7 strokes

• 沣fēng🔊

  rainy

  7 strokes

• 沤òu🔊

  to steep

  7 strokes

• 沥lì🔊

  to drip

  7 strokes

• 沦lún🔊

  to sink (into ruin, oblivion)

  7 strokes

• 沨fēng🔊

  (onom.) sound of flowing water

  7 strokes

• 沩guī🔊

  name of a river in Shanxi

  7 strokes