水
みず · mizu · JLPT N5 · noun
water
💧 mizu: the mist turns to water — mi(st) + zu, drops that drizzle down
水 began as a drawing of a stream: a central current with splashes on each side. Sound hook: mizu starts like mist, and mist is just water in the air. The same kanji reads sui in compounds, as in 水曜日 (suiyoubi), Wednesday = water day.
水 — pictograph of flowing water
水 is a pictograph depicting a stream of flowing water, with the central line representing the main current and the side strokes showing splashing droplets or ripples. In oracle bone script it was drawn even more clearly as a wavy vertical line with branches. It retains its original meaning of 'water' and also serves as a radical, often appearing in the compressed form 氵.