水

水 U+6C34, 水 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-6C34 ← 氳 [U+6C33] CJK Unified Ideographs 氵 → [U+6C35]

⽔ U+2F54, ⽔ KANGXI RADICAL WATER ← ⽓ [U+2F53] Kangxi Radicals ⽕ → [U+2F55]

Stroke order

Stroke order

• 氵 (when used as a left radical)
• 氺 (when used in characters such as 泰)

水 (Kangxi radical 85, 水+0, 4 strokes, cangjie input 水 (E), four-corner 1223₀, composition ⿰𰛄⿺㇏丿(GJKV) or ⿰㇇𰛅(GJKV) or ⿰𰛄⿱丿㇏(HT))

2. Kangxi radical #85, ⽔.

• Appendix:Chinese radical/水
• 㲻, 冰, 𪢿, 𫰖, 㝽, 𡵰, 𢗷, 𤝎, 阥, 𨑾, 𪱹, 㲑, 𤆩, 𤕯, 𡯑, 𬍖, 𦙙, 𤱄, 砅, 𧦋, 𧺵, 𫒎, 𩖱, 𬵆, 𣍤, 𩾼
• 氽, 𠕽, 𡉺, 尿, 𢇤, 𦬭, 𭥚, 𣏶, 𭻅, 㽷, 泵, 𥝸, 𥤼, 𥫸, 𨋈, 𨠊, 㞙, 𩂍, 𤦗, 𦷸, 𠪥, 𥴠, 𢦹, 閖
• 呇, 坔, 𢗨, 𤆲, 畓, 𭖜, 𧥿, 𨋉, 𨠆, 𨥗, 𭪳, 𬠤, 凼, 囦, 䠌, 潁(颍), 頮(颒), 𤸄

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 603, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 17083
• Dae Jaweon: page 992, character 9
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1545, character 1
• Unihan data for U+6C34

• 水 on Wikidata.Wikidata

水 (xuix)

1. hanzi form of xuix
   • 1450, Yang Fu (楊黼), 《詞記山花——咏蒼洱境》:

     煴煊茶水㱔呼𪢂

     Boiling tea water, greeting each other.

simp. and trad.		水
alternative forms		𡿭 𣸕

Pictogram (象形) of water flowing; sometimes written as the variant 氺 (e.g., 泰, 录, and 黎). Next to a character, it is compressed and stylized into 氵 (which is unrelated to 冫).

Compare 川 (OC *kʰjon) and its variant 巛. Compare also 永 and its cognate 𠂢.

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *lwi(j) (“flow; stream”) (Benedict, 1974; Coblin, 1986; Handel, 1998; Schuessler, 2007; STEDT). Cognate with Mizo lui (“stream; brook; river”), Tedim Chin [script needed] (luːi³, “stream; river”), Jingpho lawi (“to flow (as water)”).

Old Chinese 水 (*lhuiʔ), as reconstructed by Schuessler, is Sino-Tibetan root's endoactive derivation with suffix *-ʔ, meaning "that which is flowing"; its voiceless initial suggests the presence of a nominalizing prefix *k- or *s-. Another derivative from the Sino-Tibetan root is possibly 泫 (winʔ, “to flow”) (minimally reconstructed).

Compare also areal etymon Proto-Mon-Khmer *lujʔ ~ luuj() ~ luəj() ~ ləəj() (“to wade; to swim”).

Alternatively, Gong (1995) reconstructs Old Chinese *hljədx and compares it to Tibetan ཆུ (chu, “water”), which STEDT derives from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsju (“water; liquid; bodily fluid”).

Baxter and Sagart (2014), employing evidence from the Proto-Min form of the Min colloquial variant 沝, reconstructs the latter *turʔ and thereby reconstructs Old Chinese *s.turʔ, and compares it to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *twəj (“to flow; to suppurate”), which is likely related to *m-t(w)əj-n ~ m-ti-s (“water; fluid; to soak; to be wet”) (STEDT). *s.turʔ was then followed by an Eastern dialectal variant, *s.tujʔ, which leads to Early Middle Chinese *sywijX.

Like Gong (1995), Sagart (2017) compares it to Tibetan ཆུ (chu), but he also compares it to Bodo (India) दै (dwi), Mizo tui, Proto-Karen *thejᴬ, all of which STEDT derives from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-t(w)əj-n ~ m-ti-s. Handel deems derivations from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsju or *m-t(w)əj-n ~ m-ti-s unlikely because of phonological issues (STEDT).

水

2. water (Classifier: 瓶 m; 樽 c; 滴 m c; 池 m c; 盆 m c; 杯 m c)

   請給我一杯水，謝謝。 [MSC, trad.]
   请给我一杯水，谢谢。 [MSC, simp.]

   Qǐng gěi wǒ yī bēi shuǐ, xièxiè. [Pinyin]

   A glass of water, please.

   喝水  ―  hēshuǐ  ―  to drink water

   冰水  ―  bīngshuǐ  ―  iced water

   冷水  ―  lěngshuǐ  ―  cold water

   凍水／冻水 [Cantonese]  ―  dung³ seoi² [Jyutping]  ―  cold water

   熱水／热水  ―  rèshuǐ  ―  hot water

   開水／开水  ―  kāishuǐ  ―  boiled water

   滾水／滚水 [Cantonese]  ―  gwan² seoi² [Jyutping]  ―  boiled water

   水族館／水族馆  ―  shuǐzúguǎn  ―  aquarium

   水彩  ―  shuǐcǎi  ―  watercolour

   水溫／水温  ―  shuǐwēn  ―  water temperature

   雨水  ―  yǔshuǐ  ―  rainwater

   海水  ―  hǎishuǐ  ―  seawater

   飲用水／饮用水  ―  yǐnyòngshuǐ  ―  drinking water

   礦泉水／矿泉水  ―  kuàngquánshuǐ  ―  mineral water

   蒸餾水／蒸馏水  ―  zhēngliúshuǐ  ―  distilled water

   水閘／水闸  ―  shuǐzhá  ―  sluice

   水力發電／水力发电  ―  shuǐlìfādiàn  ―  hydroelectricity

   碳水化合物  ―  tànshuǐhuàhéwù  ―  carbohydrate

   脫水／脱水  ―  tuōshuǐ  ―  to dehydrate; dehydration

   水中毒  ―  shuǐzhōngdú  ―  water intoxication; water poisoning

   雙氧水／双氧水  ―  shuāngyǎngshuǐ  ―  hydrogen peroxide (literally, “water with two oxygen (atoms)”)

3. liquid; potion; juice

   口水  ―  kǒushuǐ  ―  saliva

   汗水  ―  hànshuǐ  ―  sweat

   羊水  ―  yángshuǐ  ―  amniotic fluid

   香水  ―  xiāngshuǐ  ―  perfume

   眼藥水／眼药水  ―  yǎnyàoshuǐ  ―  eyedrop

4. (colloquial, chiefly Singapore, Malaysia) Synonym of 飲料／饮料 (yǐnliào, “beverage”)

   要叫什麼水？／要叫什么水？  ―  Yào jiào shénme shuǐ?  ―  What beverage do you want to order?

   欲叫什物水？ [Hokkien, trad. and simp.]

   Beh kiò sím-mi̍h chúi? [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

   What beverage do you want to order?

6. (archaic) river

   漢水／汉水  ―  Hànshuǐ  ―  the Han River

7. body of water

   水路  ―  shuǐlù  ―  waterway

   三面環水／三面环水  ―  sān miàn huán shuǐ  ―  to be surrounded by (bodies of) water on three sides

8. flood

   發水／发水  ―  fāshuǐ  ―  to flood

9. additional cost or income
10. (dialectal) rain
11. (Cantonese) money

    磅水 [Cantonese]  ―  bong⁶ seoi² [Jyutping]  ―  to pay

    掠水 [Cantonese]  ―  loek^6-1 seoi² [Jyutping]  ―  to obtain money dishonestly

12. (Cantonese) hundred dollars (Classifier: 嚿 c)

    三嚿水 [Cantonese]  ―  saam¹ gau⁶ seoi² [Jyutping]  ―  three hundred dollars

13. (Cantonese) source of revenue (Classifier: 條／条 c)
14. (Cantonese) to fool; to deceive; to misguide
15. to swim

    水性  ―  shuǐxìng  ―  swimming ability

    • 假舟楫者，非能水也，而絕江河。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
      假舟楫者，非能水也，而绝江河。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

      From: Xunzi, c. 3^rd century BCE

      Jiǎ zhōují zhě, fēi néng shuǐ yě, ér jué jiānghé. [Pinyin]

      One who uses a boat, despite not knowing how to swim, can nevertheless cross rivers.

16. (colloquial) lacking substance or power; worthless

    這裡的大學太水了。 [MSC, trad.]
    这里的大学太水了。 [MSC, simp.]

    Zhèlǐ de dàxué tài shuǐ le. [Pinyin]

    The universities here are too weak.

17. Short for 划水 (huáshuǐ, “to shirk; to slack off”).
18. one of the five elements of Wu Xing (五行)
19. (colloquial) Classifier for the number of times clothing was washed.
20. Sui people

    水書／水书  ―  shuǐshū  ―  Shuishu (the traditional writing system of the Sui people)

22. a surname

• (beverage):

• (antonym(s) of “body of water”): 陸／陆

Others:

• → Bai: *ɕui²
  • Central Bai: xuix
  • Lama Bai: ɕy³³
  • Panyi Bai: sy³³
  • Southern Bai: ɕy³³
• Wutunhua: xhui (“water”)

For pronunciation and definitions of 水 – see 媠 (“(Southern Min) good-looking; pretty; beautiful”). (This character is a variant form of 媠).

• “水”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[2], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A02124
• “Entry #823”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.
• <水> at the Glyph Database from the Institute of History and Language of the Academia Sinica and the Institute of Information Science

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

• Go-on: すい (sui, Jōyō)^{←すい (sui, historical)←すゐ (swi, ancient)}
• Kan-on: すい (sui, Jōyō)^{←すい (sui, historical)←すゐ (swi, ancient)}
• Kun: みず (mizu, 水, Jōyō)^{←みづ (midu, 水, historical)}、み (mi, 水)、みな (mina, 水)、もい (moi, 水)
• Nanori: うず (uzu)、ずみ (zumi)、たいら (taira)^{←たひら (tafira, historical)}、つ (tsu)、ど (do)、な (na)、なか (naka)、みさ (misa)、みつ (mitsu)、みん (min)、ゆ (yu)、ゆく (yuku)

Kanji in this term
水
みず Grade: 1
kun'yomi

⟨mi₁du⟩ → */mʲidu/ → /mid͡zu/ → /mizu/

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.^[1] In turn, from Proto-Japonic *mentu. Ryukyuan cognates support the existence of the first vowel having an initial mid vowel.

Possibly cognate with 瑞 (mizu, “freshness, youth”).

Possible cognate with Proto-Tungusic *mū, Jurchen 木克 (mu-ke /⁠muke⁠/), Manchu ᠮᡠᡴᡝ (muke), Goguryeo 買 (*me, “river; water”), Mongolian мөрөн (mörön, “river”), Korean 물 (mul, “water”).

• (Tokyo) みず [mìzú] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [mʲizɨ]

水(みず) • (mizu) ^{←みづ (midu)?}

1. water (sometimes cold and/or fresh)

   Synonyms: ウオーター (uōtā), ウォーター (wōtā), (Tsugaru) がっこ (gakko)

   Antonym: 湯 (yu, specifically meaning "hot water")

   • 905–914, Kokin Wakashū

     袖(そで)ひちてむすびし水(みづ)のこほれるを春(はる)立(た)つけふの風(かぜ)やとくらむ

     sode hichite musubi shi mizu no kohore ru o haru tatsu kefu no kaze ya toku ramu

     During the coming spring, would the wind melt the water that I scooped out?

2. drinking water

   Synonyms: 飲水 (insui, nomimizu), 飲用水 (in'yōsui), 飲料水 (inryōsui)

3. a fluid, liquid

   Synonym: 液体 (ekitai)

4. a flood

   Synonyms: 大水 (ōmizu), 洪水 (kōzui), 出水 (shussui)

5. (sumo) Short for 水入り (mizuiri): halting
6. (sumo) Short for 力水 (chikara mizu): water offered to sumo wrestlers before a bout

• Note that, while mizu is the most general Japanese term for “water”, it does refer specifically to “water that is not hot”. Meanwhile, the word 湯 (yu) refers specifically to “hot water”. Consider 水風呂 (mizu-buro, “cold-water bath”), contrasting with 風呂 (furo, “bath”, implying hot water).

水(みず) • (mizu-) ^{←みづ (midu-)?}

1. water

水(みず) • (Mizu) ^{←みづ (Midu)?}

1. a female given name
2. a surname

Kanji in this term
水
み Grade: 1
kun'yomi

⟨mi₁⟩ → */mʲi/ → /mi/

From Old Japanese.

Typically found in compounds.^[1]

水(み) • (mi) 

1. Combining form of みず (“water”) above

Kanji in this term
水
すい Grade: 1
on'yomi

/ɕuwi/ → */suwi/ → /sui/

From Middle Chinese 水 (MC sywijX).

Compare modern Mandarin 水 (shuǐ), modern Hakka 水 (súi).

• (Tokyo) すい [súꜜì] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [sɨi]

水(すい) • (sui) 

1. water: one of the five classical elements in traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine
2. Short for 水曜日 (suiyōbi): Wednesday
3. shaved ice served with flavored syrup

   Synonym: 氷水 (kōrimizu)

水(すい) • (sui) 

1. water
2. body of water
3. fluid, liquid
4. Short for 水素 (suiso): hydrogen

水(すい) • (Sui) 

1. a female given name

Kanji in this term
水
もい Grade: 1
kun'yomi

⟨mopi₁⟩ → */mopʲi/ → /moɸi/ → /mowi/ → /moi/

From Old Japanese. Via metonymy from the word 椀, 盌 (moi, “bowl”), from the meaning of “that which goes in the 椀, 盌 (moi, “bowl”)”.^[1][2] Compare the development of modern English cuppa, where the word for the container is similarly used to refer to the contents.

• IPA^(key): [mo̞i]

水(もい) • (moi) ^{←もひ (mofi)?}

1. (obsolete) drinking water

• 水(もい)取(とり), 主水(もいとり) (moitori)

• 氷(こおり) (kōri, “ice”)
• 湯(ゆ) (yu, “hot water”)

From Middle Chinese 水 (MC sywijX).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	ᄉᆔᆼ〯 (Yale: syǔy)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
	Gloss (hun)	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[3]	믈〮 (Yale: múl)	슈〮 (Yale: syú)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰu]
• Phonetic hangul: [수]

Wikisource

水 (eumhun 물 수 (mul su))

1. hanja form^? of 수 (“water”) [affix]
2. hanja form^? of 수 (“Short for 수요일(水曜日) (suyoil, “Wednesday”).”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [4]

水 (ɕy³³)

1. hanzi form of ɕy³³ (water)

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

From Proto-Ryukyuan *medu. This form preserves the initial pJ *e that was raised to i in Central Japanese.

• IPA^(key): [mid͡zz̩]

水(みず) (midzu) 

1. water

• “ミズ” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Miyako Dialect Dictionary.

“みず” in Celik Kenan Thibault, Online Miyako Dictionary, 2016.

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

From Proto-Ryukyuan *medu. This form preserves the initial pJ *e that was raised to i in Central Japanese.

水(むぃずぃ) (mïzï) 

1. water
2. amniotic fluid

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

• On (unclassified): しー (shī)
• Kun: みじ (miji, 水)

• 雨水(うしー) (ushī)
• 天水(てぃんしー) (tinshī)
• 水鶏(くみらー) (kumirā)

From earlier 水 (midu → midzu → mizu), attested in 1711 in the 混効験集 (Konkōkenshū), itself from Proto-Ryukyuan *medu.

The word underwent a pronunciation change due to the shifting of /u/ to /i/ after alveolar consonants.

Cognate with Japanese 水 (mizu), Old Japanese 水 (mi₁du).

• (Shuri) み​ずぃ [míꜜzì] (Kakō – [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [mʲizʲi]

水(みじ) (miji) ^{←みずぃ (mizi)?}

1. water

• “みじ【水】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

From Proto-Ryukyuan *medu.

水(みじ) (miji) 

1. water

• “みじ【水】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

From Proto-Japonic *mentu. Ryukyuan cognates support the existence of the first vowel having an initial mid vowel.

Possibly cognate with 瑞 (mi₁du, “freshness, youth”). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

水 (mi₁du) (kana みづ)

1. water

水 (mi₁) (kana み)

1. water

For quotations using this term, see Citations:水.

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

From Proto-Ryukyuan *medu.

水(むぃっ) (mï') 

1. water

水 (ɕy³³)

1. hanzi form of ɕy³³ (water)

水: Hán Việt readings: thủy/thuỷ (式(thức)軌(quỹ)切(thiết))^{[1][2][3][4][5]}
水: Nôm readings: thủy/thuỷ^[1][2][4][6], nước^[2]

1. chữ Hán form of thuỷ (“water”).
2. (uncommon) Nôm form of nước (“water”).

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

From Proto-Ryukyuan *medu.

Possibly also related to Korean 물 (mul), Middle Korean 밀 (mil, “water”).

• IPA^(key): [míŋ] (tone class A)

水(みん) or 水(みーん) (min or mīn) 

1. water

• “みん【水】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.
• Nicolas Tranter, editor ((Can we date this quote?)), The Languages of Japan and Korea, Routledge, →ISBN, Yonaguni, page 415

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

From Proto-Ryukyuan *medu.

Possibly also related to Korean 물 (mul), Middle Korean 밀 (mil, “water”).

• (Mugiya Higashi-ku) IPA^(key): [mìdʑì] (tone class A)

水(みじ) (miji) 

1. water

• “みじ【水】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.