Skip to main content

河: river

By March 23, 2015December 1st, 2016Chinese Word, Japanese Word, Language-Learning, Music

 

河 hé

noun
: river

Kun Reading

河 | かわ kawa

noun
: river; stream
: (Suffix) the …. river; (suffix used with the names of rivers)

河 | がわ gawa

suffix
: the …. river; (suffix used with the names of rivers)

On Reading

か ka

 Usage:

河流 he2liu2: river
河川 he2chuan1: rivers [かせん kasen]
河口 he2kou3: estuary; the mouth of a river [かこう kakou]
河堤 he2di1: riverwall
河童 he2tong2: Kappa, a child-size humanoid water creature in Japanese folklore
[かっぱ kappa: kappa (mythical water-dwelling creatures)
: excellent swimmer
: cucumber
: (Abbreviation) rolled sushi containing a stick of cucumber]
河馬[马] he2ma3: hippopotamus [かば kaba]
河豚 he2tun2: blowfish (Tetraodontidae); puffer fish
[ふぐ fugu: puffer fish; blow fish; fugu; globefish; swellfish]
河道 he2dao4: river course; river channel
山河 shan1he2: mountains and rivers; the whole country
[さんが sanga: mountains and rivers; natural surroundings]
運[运]河 yun4he2: canal [運河 | うんが unga: canal; waterway]
銀河系 [银河系] yin2 he2 xi4: Milky Way Galaxy; the galaxy (our galaxy)
[ぎんがけい gingakei: galaxy; galactic system]

河漢 | かかん kakan OR 天の河 | あまのがわ amanogawa OR あまのかわ amanokawa: Milky Way



Japanese expression | proverb
河岸を変える | かしをかえる kashi o kaeru
: to try a new venue for eating, drinking, night amusement, etc.

河童の川流れ | かっぱのかわながれ kappa no kawa nagare
: anyone can make a mistake; even Homer sometimes nods

*二河白道 | にがびゃくどう niga byakudō
: The two rivers and the white path, i.e. the path leading to life between the rivers of desire and hatred, which are compared to water and fire

百年河清 | ひゃくねんかせい hyakunen kasei
: waiting for one hundred years for the waters of the Yellow River to clear; waiting in vain for an unlikely event. When pigs fly. When the sky falls, we shall catch larks

河豚は食いたし命は惜しし | ふぐはくいたしいのちはおしし fugu wa kuitashii nochi wa oshishi
: honey is sweet, but the bee stings. I would like to taste fugu, but I value my life; hesitating from doing something because of fear of consequences

陸に上がった河童 | おかにあがったかっぱ oka ni agatta kappa
: a fish out of water; a kappa up on the land



Chinese idiom
*二河白道 er4 he2 bai2 dao4
: (Buddhist term) metaphor in which the road to paradise is likened to a white road between two rivers, one of water (wrath) and one of fire (greed)

江河湖海 jiang1 he2 hu2 hai3: rivers and lakes

江河日下 jiang1 he2 ri4 xia4: rivers pour away by the day; going from bad to worse; deteriorating day by day

井水不犯河水 jing3 shui3 bu4 fan4 he2 shui3
: lit. the well water doesn’t meddle with the river water. fig. everyone minds their own business

摸著石頭過河 [摸着石头过河] mo1 zhe5 shi2 tou5 guo4 he2
: to wade the river by groping for stones; to advance step by step; to feel one’s way around

不到黃河心不死 [不到黄河心不死] bu4 dao4 huang2 he2 xin1 bu4 si3
: lit. not to stop until one reaches the Yellow River; fig. to persevere until one reaches one’s goal; to keep going while some hope is left

牽馬到河易,強馬飲水難 [牵马到河易,强马饮水难] qian1 ma3 dao4 he2 yi4 , qiang2 ma3 yin3 shui3 nan2
: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink

 Etymology:


形声 Pictophonetic.
(shui3: water radical 85) suggests the meaning while
可 (ke3: may; can) provides the sound.

 Music:


灰色河堤 – Danson Tang 唐禹哲

作詞:唐禹哲
作曲:唐禹哲

凌晨兩點 一個人的咖啡店
想念曾經 不安分的情緒
獨自走在灰色河堤 你來不及帶我去的場景
想著你說過 要一起看夜景

車窗上的霧氣 旋律 香水無法散去
想挽回的話語 勇氣 還是藏進心裡
無法給你那種 感覺 回到朋友關係
屋子裡的空靜 秘密 放在我的心底
遺留在記憶裡

凌晨兩點 一個人的咖啡店
想念曾經 不安分的情緒
獨自走在灰色河堤 你來不及帶我去的場景
想著你說過 要一起看夜景

車窗上的霧氣 (帶不走的)
旋律 (像你的)香水無法散去
想挽回的話語 (拿不出的)
勇氣 (沒想到)還是藏進心裡
無法給你那種 (情人般的)
感覺 (不甘願)回到朋友關係
屋子裡的空靜 (帶不走的)
秘密 (依然還)放在我的心底
遺留在記憶裡

回到我們開始的旋律
音符裡 失去你的 回憶

車窗上的霧氣 (帶不走的)
旋律 (像你的)香水無法散去
想挽回的話語 (拿不出的)
勇氣 (沒想到)還是藏進心裡
無法給你那種 (情人般的)
感覺 (不甘願)回到朋友關係
屋子裡的空靜 (帶不走的)
秘密 (依然還)放在我的心底
遺留在記憶裡

credit: Danson Tang 唐禹哲

Resources: Chinese Dictionary | Japanese Dictionary