河
river
Readings
On'yomi
- カ
Kun'yomi
- かわ
Nanori
- かっ
- こ
- こう
Meaning
河 centers on a large natural watercourse: a river. It is often used for major rivers, especially in Chinese-derived names.
Most common words using 河
20 of 191- 銀河ぎんがN1
Milky Way
- 河口かこうN1
mouth of river; estuary
- 河ホー
discarded tiles; discards
- 河川かせんN2
rivers
- 大河たいが
large river
- 河内かわち
Kawachi (former province located in the east of present-day Osaka Prefecture)
- 河内ハノイ
Hanoi (Vietnam)
- 河童かっぱ
kappa; mythical water-dwelling creature
- 大河ドラマたいがドラマ
Taiga drama; annual year-long historical drama TV series produced by NHK
- 運河うんがN2
(navigable) canal; waterway
- 河豚ふぐ
puffer fish; blow fish; fugu; globefish; swellfish
- 河原かわらN1
dry riverbed; river beach
- 氷河ひょうがN1
glacier
- 河川敷かせんじき
flood plain; river terrace; riverside area; area between river and river bank
- 銀河系ぎんがけい
Milky Way galaxy; Milky Way; the Galaxy
- 三河みかわ
Mikawa (former province located in the east of present-day Aichi Prefecture)
- 氷河期ひょうがき
glacial period; glacial epoch; glacial era; ice age
- 駿河するが
Suruga (former province located in the central and northern parts of present-day Shizuoka Prefecture)
- 河岸かし
riverbank; riverside
- 山河さんが
mountains and rivers; natural surroundings
Study
Etymology
河 combines 氵 (water) with 可, which likely contributes the sound. The character has long been used to refer to rivers, especially the Yellow River.
Meaning mnemonic
The water radical 氵 flows beside 可, like a river winding through the land. Think of the three drops as the river's water and 可 as its winding path.
Reading mnemonic
For カ, imagine a river so wide you could drive a car across it: car -> カ, and the river flows on.