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Kotomora

塩

salt

JLPTN2StatusJōyō · grade 4FrequencyTop 2,000Strokes13

Readings

On'yomi

  • エン

Kun'yomi

  • しお

Meaning

塩 centers on salt as a substance: the mineral used for seasoning and preservation.

Most common words using 塩

20 of 346
  • 塩しお
    N5

    salt; common salt; table salt; sodium chloride

  • 塩分えんぶん
    N1

    salt; salt content

  • 塩素えんそ

    chlorine (Cl)

  • 塩っぱいしょっぱい
    N3

    salty

  • 塩化えんか

    chloridation; salification

  • 塩水しおみず

    salt water; brine

  • 塩味しおあじ

    salty taste; saltiness

  • 塩漬けしおづけ

    pickling in salt; food preserved in salt

  • 塩基えんき

    base

  • 塩酸えんさん

    hydrochloric acid

  • 食塩しょくえん
    N2

    table salt

  • 塩焼きしおやき

    grilling (fish) with salt; broiling with salt

  • 塩辛しおから

    shiokara; paste made from salted fermented seafood (squid, fish entrails, etc.)

  • 岩塩がんえん

    halite; rock salt

  • 塩尻しおじり

    cone-shaped

  • 塩田えんでん

    saltpan; field for drying salt

  • 塩梅あんばい
    N1

    seasoning; flavour; flavor; taste

  • 塩釜しおがま

    salt pan (used for boiling seawater to make salt)

  • 塩気しおけ

    saltiness

  • 塩害えんがい

    salt damage (from seawater, sea air, etc.)

Explore all words using 塩 →

Study

Etymology

塩 is the modern simplified form of 鹽. The older form is complex, involving 鹵 (salt) and 監 (phonetic/semantic). The modern form 塩 combines 土 (earth) with a simplified right side derived from 監, suggesting salt extracted from earth or brine.

Meaning mnemonic

The left side 土 (earth) suggests salt from the ground or evaporated from brine in earthen vessels. The right side looks like a container with a lid, holding the salt.

Reading mnemonic

For エン, imagine an English salt shaker labeled 'EN' (as in 'end') because salt finishes a dish: EN -> エン.