流 — “to flow / stream” in Japanese

Grade 3りゅう, る, なが

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

“to flow / stream” in Japanese is 流, read ryuu, ru, naga (りゅう, る, なが). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 交流 (exchange).

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What does 流 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	流
Meaning	to flow / stream
Readings	りゅう, る, なが
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	交流 (exchange)

How to read 流

流 is read ryuu (りゅう) or ru (る) or naga (なが) depending on the word.

Words with 流

交流
漂流
濁流

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Kanji read the same way as 流

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Updated: 2026-08-28