沖 — “Open Sea / Offing / Rise High Into Sky” in Japanese

Master (高手)ちゅう, おき, おきつ, わく

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

“Open Sea / Offing / Rise High Into Sky” in Japanese is 沖, read chuu, oki, okitsu (ちゅう, おき, おきつ, わく). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 沖縄 (Okinawa).

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What does 沖 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	沖
Meaning	Open Sea / Offing / Rise High Into Sky
Readings	ちゅう, おき, おきつ, わく
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	沖縄 (Okinawa)

How to read 沖

沖 is read chuu (ちゅう) or oki (おき) or okitsu (おきつ) or waku (わく) depending on the word.

Words with 沖

沖縄

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Kanji read the same way as 沖

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

Updated: 2026-08-28