清水しみず

湧わき水みず sense 1
湧き水 emphasizes the action of water gushing up from the ground, while 清水 focuses on the resulting purity and clarity of that water.
清せい流りゅう sense 2
清流 refers to a clear-flowing stream or river as a body of water, whereas 清水 refers to the water itself, often from a spring.
名めい水すい sense 2
名水 highlights water's fame or reputed quality (often from a famous source), while 清水 simply describes water as pure or clear.
浄じょう水すい
浄水 implies water that has gone through a treatment or filtration process, whereas 清水 simply means clear, clean-looking water without any implication of processing.

Opposites

汚お水すい sense 2
汚水 is dirty or waste water, the direct opposite of the clarity and purity implied by 清水.

Word family

岩清水いわしみず
water trickling from rocks
真ま清水しみず
pure water; clear water
岩いわ垣がき清水しみず
water emerging from a stone wall

Written forms

清水Usage99%
- しみず
  Standard kanji spelling for the most common reading しみず.
- せいすい
  On-reading; mostly found in formal or literary contexts, or in proper nouns.
- きよみず
  Alternate kun-reading; mainly used in place names (e.g., 清水寺).
しみずUsage1%
きよみず
せいすい

Etymology

Compound of 清 (pure, clear) and 水 (water). The reading しみず is a kun'yomi compound, while せいすい is the on'yomi reading. The alternate reading きよみず is also kun'yomi but less common in general vocabulary.