潜 — “Submerge / Conceal / Hide / Lower (voice)” in Japanese

Master (高手)せん, ひそ, もぐ, かく, くぐ

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

“Submerge / Conceal / Hide / Lower (voice)” in Japanese is 潜, read sen, hiso, mogu (せん, ひそ, もぐ, かく, くぐ). 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 潜水 (diving).

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What does 潜 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	潜
Meaning	Submerge / Conceal / Hide / Lower (voice)
Readings	せん, ひそ, もぐ, かく, くぐ
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	潜水 (diving)

How to read 潜

潜 is read sen (せん) or hiso (ひそ) or mogu (もぐ) or kaku (かく) or kugu (くぐ) depending on the word.

Words with 潜

潜水

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Kanji read the same way as 潜

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

Updated: 2026-08-28