Origin

This character represents water (the three-stroke water mark on the left) combined with a sound hint (the right component). The left part tells you the meaning relates to flowing water or channels, which makes sense for a gutter or ditch—a place where water drains. The right component sounds roughly like "kou," giving you the approximate pronunciation of the whole character without adding to its meaning. Together, these parts create a character that means a water channel or groove, whether a natural stream or something humans dig to direct water away.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).