水 — “water” in Japanese

Grade 1すい, みず

Radical ⽔ · radical 85 The building block this kanji is filed under

“water” in Japanese is 水, read sui, mizu (すい, みず). It is a Grade 1 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 1 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 水曜日 (Wednesday).

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What does 水 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	水
Meaning	water
Readings	すい, みず
Grade	Grade 1 (Easiest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	水曜日 (Wednesday)

How to read 水

水 is read sui (すい) or mizu (みず) depending on the word.

Words with 水

水位すいい
浸水しんすい
洪水こうずい
水質すいしつ
水分すいぶん
水道すいどう
水泳すいえい
水中すいちゅう
水蒸気すいじょうき
地下水ちかすい

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Kanji read the same way as 水

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28