To Shower or To Melt

Why does water do so many things in kanji?!

If you’ve been studying Japanese for a while, you’ve probably noticed that the kanji for water-related words all start looking... kind of the same.

Today, let’s look at two tricky ones that often get mixed up:

• 浴びる（あびる） – to bathe / to shower

• 溶ける（とける） – to melt / to dissolve

They both have the water radical on the left (氵), and both look like they’re somehow about liquids — but they’re totally different in meaning and usage.

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🌊 浴びる – To bathe / To shower

Kanji Breakdown:

• Left: 氵(water)

• Right: 谷 (valley)

Visual hint: Imagine a waterfall pouring down into a valley — you’re standing under it, bathing or showering in the water.

Common uses:

• シャワーを浴びる (to take a shower)

• 日光を浴びる (to bask in sunlight) ← yes, you can “bathe” in sunlight too!

So even though it’s usually about water, 浴びる can also be used metaphorically — like being soaked in something (sunlight, fame, attention, etc).

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🧊 溶ける – To melt / To dissolve

Kanji Breakdown:

• Left: 氵(water)

• Right: 容 (contain/hold)

Visual hint: Think of melting something solid (like ice or chocolate) down into a container — it’s now dissolving into a liquid.

Common uses:

• 氷が溶ける (ice melts)

• チーズが溶ける (cheese melts)

• 薬が水に溶ける (medicine dissolves in water)

This verb is often used when something solid becomes liquid, or dissolves completely into something else.

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🧠 Quick Recap

Both start with the water radical, but the parts on the right give the clue:

• 谷 (valley) → you’re in it, being splashed = shower

• 容 (container) → things melt/dissolve into it

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Final Thought 💭

Don’t worry if these look the same at first glance — most kanji do! The trick is to zoom in on the radicals, build a mental image, and practice them in real sentences.

Next time you’re in the shower (or watching cheese melt on pizza 🍕), try saying the verbs out loud — it actually helps your brain remember them better!