水
みず
hepburn mizu
water
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
Examples
- 水をください。Water, please.
- 冷たい水が飲みたいです。I want to drink cold water.
Collocations
水を飲む冷たい水熱い水 (お湯)水道飲み水
Mnemonic
Mizu — 水, water. The sound is Yamato, a native Japanese word. The kanji 水 is the same in Korean "su" and Chinese "shui." The character itself is a drawing of flowing streams — you meet it again in Mandarin Roots. Critical: 水 means cold or room-temperature water only. Hot water is お湯 oyu, a different word entirely.
Quick check
How do you say "hot water" in Japanese?