河
河 — River
river
On’yomiカ (ka)
Kun’yomiかわ (kawa)
Stroke order (8 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 河
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 河川 | かせん kasen | rivers |
| 大河 | たいが taiga | large river |
| 河原 | かわら kawara | dry riverbed; river beach |
| 銀河 | ぎんが ginga | Milky Way; galaxy |
| 河川敷 | かせんじき kasenjiki | flood plain; river terrace; riverside area |
| 運河 | うんが unga | (navigable) canal; waterway |
Study notes
河 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #663 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).
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