# 湧 — gush; well up

湧 means “gush; well up”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 12 strokes. On'yomi: ユウ (yuu), ユ (yu), ヨウ (you). Kun'yomi: わ(く) (waku). You'll see it in words such as 湧く (waku, “to well; to gush out”).

- Meaning: gush; well up
- On'yomi: ユウ (yuu), ユ (yu), ヨウ (you)
- Kun'yomi: わ(く) (waku)
- Strokes: 12
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Water & the sea 4

## How to remember 湧

Sounds like 勇: both read ユウ.

Parts: 氵 water · 勇 courage

## Words with 湧

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 湧く | わく (waku) | to well; to gush out |

## Don't confuse it with

[勇](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/courage/)

## More in the “Water & the sea 4” set

[礁](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/reef/) · [汽](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/vapour/) · [渓](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/mountain-stream/) · [湧](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/gush/) · [泌](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/ooze/) · [氾](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/overflow/) · [溺](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/drown/) · [濫](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/excessive/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/gush/. Last updated 2026-11-01.