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Kotomora

沢

swamp, marsh, brilliance, grace

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 500Strokes7

Readings

On'yomi

  • タク

Kun'yomi

  • さわ
  • うるお.い
  • うるお.す
  • つや

Nanori

  • おも
  • さ
  • さわん
  • わさ

Meaning

沢 centers on a low, wet, water-rich place: a swamp or marsh. The extended senses of brilliance and grace come from the idea of something being richly moistened or lustrous, like a glossy surface.

Most common words using 沢

20 of 105
  • 沢山たくさん
    N5

    a lot; lots; plenty; many; a large number; much; a great deal; a good deal

  • 贅沢ぜいたく
    N3

    luxury; extravagance

  • 金沢かなざわ
    N5

    Kanazawa (city in Ishikawa)

  • 沢さわ

    mountain stream; valley; dale

  • 光沢こうたく
    N1

    brilliance; polish; lustre; luster; glossy finish

  • 毛沢東もうたくとう

    Mao Zedong (1893.12.26-1976.9.9); Mao Tse-tung

  • 潤沢じゅんたく

    abundant; ample; plentiful; affluent

  • 沢庵たくあん

    pickled daikon radish

  • 白沢はくたく

    bai ze (mythical Chinese animal able to understand human speech, having the body of a lion and eight eyes)

  • 子沢山こだくさん

    having many children

  • 沢蟹さわがに

    Japanese freshwater crab (Geothelphusa dehaani)

  • 沼沢しょうたく

    marsh; swamp; bog

  • 金沢大学かなざわだいがく

    Kanazawa University

  • 沢辺さわべ

    edge of a swamp

  • 沢地さわち

    marshy land

  • うた沢うたざわ

    slow-paced style of shamisen music with vocal accompaniment (popular during the late Edo period)

  • うた沢節うたざわぶし

    slow-paced style of shamisen music with vocal accompaniment (popular during the late Edo period)

  • もっと沢山もっとたくさん

    a lot more; much more; and then some; and plenty more than that

  • ガラス光沢ガラスこうたく

    vitreous lustre (luster); glassy lustre

  • 亜金属光沢あきんぞくこうたく

    submetallic luster; submetallic lustre

Explore all words using 沢 →

Study

Etymology

沢 is the modern simplified form of 澤. The older form combines 氵 (water) with 睪, which likely contributed the sound and the idea of a watery, low-lying place. The modern 尺 shape is a simplification and should not be treated as the original historical component.

Meaning mnemonic

Water 氵 beside a measuring ruler 尺: imagine a ruler stuck into a muddy swamp to measure its depth. The swamp is wet and glistening, giving it a kind of dark brilliance.

Reading mnemonic

For タク, picture a tack floating on the surface of a swamp: tack -> タク, and the tack's shiny metal head catches the light with a wet brilliance.