# 河 — large river

河 means “large river”. It is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 8 strokes. On'yomi: カ (ka). Kun'yomi: かわ (kawa). You'll see it in words such as 河 (kawa, “river; stream”).

- Meaning: large river
- On'yomi: カ (ka)
- Kun'yomi: かわ (kawa)
- Strokes: 8
- Level: JLPT N2 · set Water & the sea 1

## How to remember 河

Sounds like 可: both read カ.

Parts: 氵 water · 可 can; possible

## Words with 河

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 河 | かわ (kawa) | river; stream |

## Don't confuse it with

[可](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/possible/) · [司](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/administer/) · [何](https://moji.ninja/n5-kanji/what/) · [事](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/matter/)

## More in the “Water & the sea 1” set

[河](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/large-river/) · [浮](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/float/) · [泉](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/spring-of-water/) · [浴](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/bathe/) · [潟](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/lagoon/) · [液](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/liquid/) · [沈](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/sink/) · [干](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/hang-out-to-dry/)

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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/n2-kanji/large-river/. Last updated 2026-11-01.