川 means “river”

かわ · kawa

Also: stream, river or three-stroke river radical (no. 47)

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): かわ
On'yomi (Chinese reading): セン

JLPT N5 · Taught in grade 1 · 3 strokes

The story

The Sumida river carries cherry petals through Tokyo, linking ancient past to modern day.

Appears in many Japanese city names

Where it comes from

Pictographic (象形文字): Three flowing streams of water.

The original drawing showed wavy water currents flowing downward. Over time, the curves straightened into three clean vertical strokes, but the meaning endures: water flowing between banks.

To remember it: Three parallel streams flowing down, the middle one slightly longer, just like a real river.

Its parts

川 River · Entire character

Three flowing vertical lines representing currents of a river

Words with 川

山川 (さんせん, sansen): mountains and rivers
川魚 (かわざかな, kawazakana): river fish

Example sentences

川で泳ぎましょう。 Let's swim in the river.
この川はとてもきれいです。 This river is very clean.

Kanji that look like 川

州 (state / province): 州 adds dots between the river strokes: islands in a river

More from Nature's Poetry

Learn 川 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji