Kanji 潜: submerge, conceal, hide, lower (voice), hush

Key takeaways

Kanji 潜: submerge, conceal, hide, lower (voice), hush. Readings and core meaning.

See vocabulary and examples below.

Kanji at a glance

潜

Meaning

submergeconcealhidelower (voice)hush

On reading

セン

Kun reading

ひそ.むもぐ.るかく.れるくぐ.るひそ.める

Radical

水

Core meaning / core image

Core meaning: 潜

submerge, conceal, hide, lower (voice), hush

Kanji structure breakdown

潜

Structure breakdown

氵 + 替

Mnemonic story

Imagine entering the water (氵) and changing (替) your position to hide yourself. This represents the act of submerging deep underwater or concealing oneself from others' sight.

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

セン

潜水せんすい
diving / underwater swimming
潜入せんにゅう
infiltration / sneaking in

Kun reading

ひそ.む

潜るくぐる
to pass through / to evade / to dive under
潜るもぐる
to dive / to go under / to pass through

Commonly used words

潜水
せんすい
diving / underwater swimming
潜入
せんにゅう
infiltration / sneaking in
潜る
くぐる
to pass through / to evade / to dive under
潜る
もぐる
to dive / to go under / to pass through

Example sentences

Example 1

車は狭い道をくぐった。

Translation

The car passed through the narrow street.

Example 2

彼は質問をうまくくぐった。

Translation

He skillfully evaded the question.

Example 3

彼は毎朝潜水の練習をします。

Translation

He practices diving every morning.

Example 4

潜水中は息を止めなければなりません。

Translation

You have to hold your breath while diving.

Kanji 潜: submerge, conceal, hide, lower (voice), hush

Kanji at a glance

Core meaning / core image

Kanji structure breakdown

Mnemonic story

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

Kun reading

Commonly used words

Example sentences

潜る (くぐる): meaning and examples

潜水 (せんすい): meaning and examples

潜入 (せんにゅう): meaning and examples

潜る (もぐる): meaning and examples