塩
salt
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.)
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.