堰
dam, prevent, stop up
Readings
On'yomi
- エン
Kun'yomi
- せき
- せ.く
Meaning
堰 centers on blocking or holding back a flow, especially water: a dam, or the act of preventing something from passing. The idea of stopping up is a direct physical application of that same blocking action.
Most common words using 堰
- 堰せき
dam; weir; barrier; sluice
- 堰堤えんてい
dam; weir
- 可動堰かどうぜき
canal gates; river gates
- 土堰堤どえんてい
earthfill dam
- 堰を切ったようせきをきったよう
gushing forth; bursting out; like breaking a dam
- 堰を切るせきをきる
to break a dam; to burst out
- 堰塞えんそく
damming (e.g. a pond)
- 堰板せきいた
sheeting; sheathing board; cover
- 堰止湖せきとめこ
dammed lake (formed by natural damming of a river, esp. by landslide, volcanic eruption, etc.)
Study
Etymology
堰 combines 土 (earth) with 匽, which likely contributes the sound and carries a sense of blocking or damming. The structure suggests an earthen barrier that holds back water.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side is earth 土, and the right side 匽 looks like a barrier with something enclosed inside. Picture an earthen wall built across a river to dam the water and stop it up.
Reading mnemonic
For エン, imagine the dam ending the river's flow: end -> エン, and the earthen wall stops the water completely.