Recognize 水 in everyday Japanese, learn its meanings (water) and read it as part of complete words.

The idea

A kanji can have Japanese-origin readings (kun) and readings borrowed through Chinese (on); learn each reading with its word. Compare 水（みず） and 水曜日（すいようび） in the table. 水 has 4 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
水みずwater
水曜日すいようびWednesday
水道すいどうwater supply; tap
川の水かわのみずriver water

Examples

  • 水みずをゆっくり飲のみます。I drink the water slowly.
  • 水曜日すいようびに図書館としょかんへ行いきます。I go to the library on Wednesday.
  • 水みずがとても冷つめたいです。The water is very cold.
  • 水道すいどうの水みずを飲のみます。I drink tap water.
  • 水みずを一杯いっぱいください。A glass of water, please.
  • 水みずの中なかに魚さかながいます。There are fish in the water.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

水 alone is みず, but 水曜日 begins with すい. Do not confuse 水 with 氷, which has an extra dot and means ice.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 水 in hiragana.

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    みず

    水 is read みず; the whole expression means water. 水 is used here as a word on its own.

  2. Write the reading of 水曜日 in hiragana.

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    すいようび

    水曜日 is read すいようび; the whole expression means Wednesday. In this word 水 is read すい.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: ＿曜日（すいようび）.

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    水

    水 completes 水曜日, which is read すいようび. The completed expression means Wednesday.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 水 from memory, and read 水 and 水曜日 aloud. Then check both readings and meanings.