Japanese kanji 泥: mud, muddy water and a thief

The idea

泥 has 8 strokes; follow the linked diagram. Read 泥（どろ）, 泥水（どろみず） and 泥棒（どろぼう） as complete words. Its on-reading is デイ, as in 汚泥（おでい, sludge）.

Examples

• 靴くつが泥どろだらけになりました。My shoes are covered in mud.
• 子こどもたちは泥どろの中なかで遊あそびました。The children played in the mud.
• 泥水どろみずが道みちに流ながれ込こみました。Muddy water flowed into the road.
• 雨あめの後あと、畑はたけが泥どろでぬかるみました。After the rain, the field became muddy.
• 泥棒どろぼうは窓まどから逃にげました。The thief escaped through a window.
• 作業員さぎょういんが川底かわぞこの泥どろを取とり除のぞきました。The workers removed mud from the bottom of the river.

Watch out

泥水 is muddy water, while 泥棒 means a thief, not a muddy stick. Learn each compound as a word.

Try it yourself

1. Write the reading of 泥 in hiragana.

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   どろ

   泥 is read どろ and means mud, as on the shoes in the first sentence.

2. Write the reading of 泥水 in hiragana.

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   どろみず

   泥水 is read どろみず: 泥 and 水 together mean muddy water.

3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿棒（どろぼう）［泥／水］.

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   泥

   泥 completes 泥棒（どろぼう）, the word for a thief.

Use it today

Write 泥 following the diagram, then cover the table and read 泥水 and 泥棒 aloud.