Origin

This character combines water (the three-dot radical on the left, which appears in most water-related words) with a sound component on the right that indicates the pronunciation "kei". The water radical makes clear the character refers to flowing water, while the right component historically provided a phonetic hint for how to say it. Together they create an image of water flowing through a valley or mountain stream, capturing both the visual and sonic qualities of such a landscape feature.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).