滄
ocean
Readings
On'yomi
- ソウ
Kun'yomi
—
Meaning
滄 centers on a vast, deep body of water: the ocean. It evokes the immense, often cold or dark expanse of the sea.
Most common words using 滄
- 滄海そうかい
the blue sea; blue waters
- 桑田変じて滄海となるそうでんへんじてそうかいとなる
the world is a scene of constant changes; a mulberry field changes into a blue sea
- 桑田滄海そうでんそうかい
the world is a scene of constant changes (as a mulberry field changing into a blue sea)
- 滄海の一粟そうかいのいちぞく
drop in the bucket; drop in the ocean; one grain of millet in a vast ocean
- 滄海桑田そうかいそうでん
the world is a scene of constant changes; the blue sea turns into a mulberry field
- 滄海遺珠そうかいのいしゅ
talented person unbeknownst to the world
- 滄溟そうめい
great blue sea; ocean
Study
Etymology
滄 combines the water radical 氵 with 倉, which likely contributes the sound and may evoke a sense of vastness or storage, suggesting a huge body of water like the ocean.
Meaning mnemonic
The water radical 氵 beside 倉, which looks like a storehouse, suggests a vast storehouse of water: the ocean.
Reading mnemonic
For ソウ, imagine the soul of the ocean: soul -> ソウ, and the deep ocean holds the soul of the sea.