川
川 — Stream
stream, river
On’yomiセン (sen)
Kun’yomiかわ (kawa)
Stroke order (3 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 川
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 川 | かわ kawa | river; stream; River |
| 小川 | おがわ ogawa | stream; brook; creek |
| 河川 | かせん kasen | rivers |
| 谷川 | たにがわ tanigawa | mountain stream |
| 川口 | かこう kakou | mouth of river; estuary |
| 川上 | かわかみ kawakami | upper reaches of a river; upstream |
Study notes
川 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 3 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #181 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.