泉
spring, fountain
Readings
On'yomi
- セン
Kun'yomi
- いずみ
Nanori
- いず
- ずい
- ずみ
- ぜい
- ぜん
- の
Meaning
泉 centers on water emerging naturally from the ground: a spring or fountain. Both meanings describe the same source of flowing water.
Most common words using 泉
20 of 111- 温泉おんせんN3
hot spring
- 泉いずみN3
spring; fountain
- 和泉いずみ
Izumi (former province located in the southwest of present-day Osaka Prefecture)
- 源泉げんせん
source (of a spring, etc.)
- 黄泉よみ
Hades; hell; underworld
- 温泉郷おんせんきょう
hot-spring village; onsen village
- 泉州せんしゅう
Quanzhou (China); Chinchew
- 冷泉れいせん
cold mineral spring
- 泉水せんすい
garden pond; miniature lake
- 間欠泉かんけつせん
geyser
- 鉱泉こうせん
mineral spring
- 神泉しんせん
miraculous fountain
- 大辞泉だいじせん
Daijisen (Japanese dictionary published by Shogakukan)
- 炭酸泉たんさんせん
carbonated spring; soda spring
- 天然温泉てんねんおんせん
natural hot spring
- 霊泉れいせん
miraculous spring or fountain
- 温泉街おんせんがいN2
hot spring district (within a town)
- ことばの泉ことばのいずみ
Kotoba no Izumi (Japanese dictionary; publ. 1898)
- カルルス泉塩カルルスせんえん
Karlsbad salt
- デジタル大辞泉デジタルだいじせん
Digital Daijisen (online dictionary)
Study
Etymology
泉 is a pictograph of water flowing from a spring. The top 白 originally depicted a spring opening or source, and the bottom 水 is water. The modern form retains this clear image.
Meaning mnemonic
The top 白 looks like a white rock opening, and the bottom 水 is water. Picture clear water bubbling out of a white rock: a natural spring.
Reading mnemonic
For セン, imagine a thousand (千, せん) tiny springs feeding a fountain: 千 -> セン, and all that water flows from the spring.