溪
- creek;
- brook;
- stream;
溪 usually refers to narrow streams or small mountain valleys with water.
Etymology
Phono-semantic compound:
水 (물 수) — semantic element, indicating water.
奚 (어찌 해) — phonetic component, giving the sound 계 and semantic hint of winding or meandering (as seen in related words).
Thus 溪 originally depicted a small watercourse flowing through a ravine.
溪 belongs to a family of characters describing natural waterways:
谿 — ravine; literary spelling
溪 — stream; common modern form
澗 — gorge stream, very narrow
沚 — bank or small sandy water edge
洌 — clear, pure water
Usage in Korean
In Korean, 溪 (계) appears mainly in geographical names, literary expressions, and Sino-Korean words relating to streams and valleys.
Streams / valleys:
溪谷 (계곡) — 산골짜기의 물길; mountain valley; ravine with water
산溪 (산계) — 산속의 시냇물; mountain stream
溪水 (계수) — 시냇물; brook water; stream
溪間 (계간) — 계곡 사이; between ravines
Literary / poetic terms:
溪聲 (계성) — 시냇물 소리; sound of running water
溪上 (계상) — 계곡 위; above the stream
溪路 (계로) — 시내를 따라 난 길; streamside path
Place names:
淸溪 (청계) — clear stream (common in Korean toponyms)
銀溪 (은계) — silver brook
內溪 / 外溪 — Inner Stream / Outer Stream (local place naming)
Used frequently in Korean geography, hiking routes, classical poetry, and historical documents.
Words that derived from 溪
Additional notes
In poetry, 溪 represents:
- purity
- solitude
- natural beauty
- quiet passage of time
- the secluded life (隱士 tradition)
Often used in classical Korean and Chinese poetry to depict tranquil mountain landscapes.
《後漢書·郡國志》 (Book of the Later Han Dynasty)
「山多深谷，諸溪流急。」
“The mountains contain deep ravines, and all the streams flow swiftly.”
《文選·謝靈運〈登池上樓〉》 (Selected Works of Literature, Xie Lingyun)
「溪谷多風雨。」
“Streams and valleys are full of wind and rain.”
《太平寰宇記》 (Taiping Huanyu Ji)
「兩山對峙，中有溪水。」
“Two mountains stand facing each other, with a stream flowing between them.”
《山海經·西山經》 (Classic of Mountains and Seas)
「其下多溪。」
“Beneath it are many streams.”
These confirm the senses of valley stream and mountain brook.
- 水月女大 (EBVK)
- ⿰ 氵 奚
Neighboring characters in the dictionary
