Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements

瀬: rapids, current

Also: torrent, shallows, shoal

JLPT N119 strokesSecondary schoolYour ink: 白 Not met

氵 carries the meaning · 頼 gives the sound

19 strokes
  • Small seal · Qin
  • Today

Small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.

One reading, and the words that use it

せse · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 瀬せshallows; shoal
  • 瀬戸せとstrait; channel
  • 高瀬たかせshallow river; shallows
  • 早瀬はやせswift current; rapids
  • 瀬戸際せとぎわbrink; verge; critical moment
  • 瀬戸物せとものearthenware; porcelain; china

Also read ライ, with no example words in our sources. Words: JMdict, EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0.

成り立ち

Where it comes from

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Imagine three raindrops falling—that's sanzui! Whenever you see these three dots on the left side of a kanji, think of water, liquids, or anything that flows.”
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
瀬 rapids · 氵 + 頼
vs額 forehead · 客 + 頁
瀬 has 氵 + 頼 where 額 has 客 + 頁.
In ChineseSimplified 濑 · traditional 瀨 · lài

Three different forms: Japanese 瀬, simplified 濑, traditional 瀨.

Simplified
濑 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
瀨 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin lài most common reading

Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.

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