mountain stream, valley
渓 centers on a narrow, water-carved landscape feature: a mountain stream flowing through a valley. The two meanings are closely linked, with the stream being the water and the valley being the land it shapes.
渓 is the modern simplified form of 谿. The older form combines 谷 (valley) with 奚, which likely contributed the sound. The modern form replaces 谷 with 氵 (water) and simplifies the right side to 爫 over 夫, emphasizing the water aspect of a mountain stream.
Water 氵 flows down from the claw-like top 爫 through a husband 夫, carving a mountain stream and valley.
For ケイ, imagine a kayak (ケイ) gliding down the mountain stream: the kayak's shape and sound cue ケイ while it navigates the valley.
valley (with a river running through it); gorge; ravine; canyon
mountain stream; mountain torrent
snowy valley
Genbi Gorge (Ichinoseki-shi, Iwate-ken)
ravine; chasm
sound of a valley stream
mountain stream; the water of a mountain stream
a spring that gushes forth from a valley
mountain stream fishing
mountain stream; valley
ravine
Geibi Gorge (Ichinoseki, Iwate)