水
The 水 radical
Water
Variants: 氵
Memory hook
Three drops of flowing water
The 水 radical (read shuǐ) means water. The HSK 3.0 data contains 165 characters and 724 words built on it — learning them together is far faster than one character at a time.
Practise the 水 radical
Study this radical's 724 words with flashcards or a quiz.
The free plan drills 15 words per radical. Upgrade to Premium
Characters with the 水 radical
165 charactersThe free plan shows 9 characters per HSK level (60/165 characters of this radical).
HSK 1· 6 characters
HSK 1水
water
汉
Han (the Han people or the Han dynasty)
汽
vapor, steam
没
not, did not, have not
洗
to wash
渴
thirsty
HSK 2· 9 characters
HSK 2永
forever; eternal
求
to seek; to pursue
河
river
油
oil (cooking oil, engine oil, etc.)
法
law (law, rule)
活
to live; alive; lively
流
to flow
海
sea
清
clear (of water, air)
HSK 3· 9 characters
HSK 3汁
juice, extract
汤
soup; broth
沙
sand
注
to pay attention to, focus on
泳
to swim
派
faction; school (of thought)
济
to help, relieve
浪
wave
消
to eliminate, wipe out
HSK 4· 9 characters
HSK 4汇
to remit money
江
surname Jiang
沉
to sink
治
to govern, to manage
泉
spring (water source)
泪
tears
浅
shallow, light (color)
测
to measure
浓
strong, concentrated
HSK 5· 9 characters
HSK 5汗
sweat
池
pond, lake
污
dirty, filthy
沟
ditch, trench, moat
泛
to spread, to spread out
泼
to splash, to sprinkle
洒
to sprinkle
洞
cave, den
润
smooth, sleek
HSK 6· 9 characters
HSK 6沿
along
泡
to soak, to steep, to brew
波
wave, ripple
泥
clay
洁
clean, pure
洋
foreign; Western
洪
flood, floodwater
浮
to float
涉
to wade; to cross (water)
HSK 7-9· 9 characters
HSK 7-9汛
flood, floodwater
汪
pond, puddle
汰
to eliminate, to discard
汹
fierce waves, surging
沃
fertile, rich (of soil)
沏
to brew, to steep (tea)
沐
to bathe
沛
abundant, plentiful
沧
gray-green
Vocabulary with the 水 radical
724 wordsWords containing at least one character with the 水 radical, ordered by HSK level.
The free plan shows 9 words per HSK level (63/724 words of this radical).
water
fruit
Chinese character
Chinese (language)
car, automobile
not, did not, have not
it's nothing, never mind
it's nothing, you're welcome
it's all right, never mind
dissatisfied; discontented
way of doing; method
bus
way; solution
come on; go for it
sea; ocean
to work; to do manual labor
idea; thought
method
to exchange; to communicate
to be filled with; to brim with
to pay attention to; to follow closely
cool water; cold water (not hot)
to cancel; to call off
legal; lawful
director (of a film or play); to direct
fruit juice
soup; broth
to stimulate, to excite
gas station
satisfactory, perfect
foreign exchange
tour guide
boiled water
to solicit, to seek (opinions)
politics
unable to, to have no way to
top-notch, first-rate
to rise
calligraphy
according to the law
to perspire; to sweat
profit
to seek
extensive, widespread
cheerful, excited
sandwich
to premiere, to be shown
mainstream, main current
never, never have
low temperature
cold water
to be filled with, to be covered with
to interfere
microwave oven
terrible, a mess, hopeless
Upper class (the high, wealthy social stratum)
upstream (of a river, stream)
To go into business, to engage in trade (often said of someone leaving a government job to start a private business).
lower reaches, the lower part of a river
to focus, to concentrate
full-figured, voluptuous (usually used to describe a woman's figure)
to star, to play the lead role
to beg, to plead
Why learn vocabulary by the 水 radical?
The 水 radical hints at the meaning water. When you meet an unfamiliar character carrying it, you already know part of its meaning before reaching for a dictionary — which is why learners who know their radicals move faster.
How to study: read the memory hook, skim the 165 characters to spot the pattern, then drill the 724 words with flashcards. Spaced repetition brings each word back exactly when you need it.