Meaning
渡 means to cross, to pass over, and to hand over. Two related ideas run through it: physical traversal — crossing a river, a sea, a national border — and transfer, passing an object from one person to another. Both share a common thread: something moves from here to there.
Left side: 氵 (sanzui, water radical). Right side: 度 (do/to, degree or measure). The water radical anchors the kanji in rivers, seas, any body of water you must get across. Before bridges, crossing even a modest river could be genuinely dangerous — that weight of passage still lives in this character. 度 doubles as a phonetic hint (source of the on'yomi ト) and a visual reminder: you are measuring the span between two banks.
Classical poetry uses 渡 for ocean crossings and bird migrations. Modern usage is far more mundane — handing a colleague documents, crossing a pedestrian bridge, returning an apartment key. At 12 strokes (Joyo grade 8), it is a core JLPT N3 target.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
The on'yomi is ト (to), borrowed from Middle Chinese. It appears almost exclusively in two-kanji compounds — formal or written vocabulary dealing with travel, immigration, and transition. In everyday speech, わたる and わたす dominate; save ト for written contexts.
- 渡航 (tokou) — overseas voyage, passage abroad; used in official documents and news when referring to traveling across the sea to a foreign country
- 渡来 (torai) — arrival from abroad; historically significant as 渡来人 (toraijin), the continental immigrants who brought writing, Buddhism, and ironworking to ancient Japan
- 過渡期 (katoki) — transitional period; widely used in politics, economics, and social commentary to describe a phase of change between two systems
- 渡世 (tosei) — making a living, navigating the world; literary and somewhat archaic, but still recognizable in set phrases
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
Two native readings: わた.る (wataru) and わた.す (watasu). They share the same root but differ in direction. わたる is intransitive — you cross something. わたす is transitive — you hand something to someone.
わた.る (wataru) — to cross, to go across, to span. Used for physically crossing a bridge, river, or border; can also describe spanning a stretch of time or birds migrating across continents.
- 橋を渡る (hashi wo wataru) — to cross a bridge; the most common use
- 渡り鳥 (wataridori) — migratory bird; literally a bird that crosses oceans or continents
- 世を渡る (yo wo wataru) — to make one's way through the world
わた.す (watasu) — to hand over, to pass, to deliver. Used whenever one person physically gives something to another — in daily life, business, and official settings alike.
- 書類を渡す (shorui wo watasu) — to hand over documents
- 手渡し (tewatashi) — handing something directly to a person, personal delivery
- 引き渡す (hikiwatasu) — to hand over, to surrender (a person or property) to authorities
Common Words & Compounds
渡 spans a wide range — from ferry routes to corporate handovers. These words are the most useful at JLPT N3 level, organized by theme.
Crossing and Physical Movement
- 渡る (wataru) — to cross, to go across
- 渡し船 (watashibune) — ferryboat; a boat that carries passengers across a river or strait
- 渡り廊下 (watari rouka) — connecting corridor, covered walkway between two buildings
- 渡り鳥 (wataridori) — migratory bird
- 渡航 (tokou) — overseas voyage, traveling abroad by sea
Handing Over and Transferring
- 渡す (watasu) — to hand over, to pass something to someone
- 手渡し (tewatashi) — direct personal delivery, handing something face-to-face
- 引き渡し (hikiwatashi) — handover, extradition, surrender of property or a person
- 譲り渡す (yuzuriwatasu) — to transfer rights or property to another
- 明け渡す (akewatasu) — to vacate, to give up a place or position
Social and Cultural Terms
- 橋渡し (hashiwatashi) — mediation, acting as a bridge between two parties; handy in professional contexts
- 渡来 (torai) — coming from overseas; historically used for continental immigrants to Japan
- 過渡期 (katoki) — transitional period between two systems or states
Example Sentences
橋を渡って、公園に行きましょう。
Hashi wo watatte, kouen ni ikimashou.
Let's cross the bridge and head to the park.
先生は生徒にプリントを渡した。
Sensei wa seito ni purinto wo watashita.
The teacher handed out worksheets to the students.
毎年、この季節になると渡り鳥がやってくる。
Maitoshi, kono kisetsu ni naru to wataridori ga yatte kuru.
Every year when this season arrives, migratory birds come through.
鍵は直接手渡しでお願いします。
Kagi wa chokusetsu tewatashi de onegai shimasu.
Please hand over the key directly in person.
この川を渡るのは危険なので、橋を使ってください。
Kono kawa wo wataru no wa kiken na node, hashi wo tsukatte kudasai.
Crossing this river is dangerous — please use the bridge.
彼女は仕事のために海外へ渡航した。
Kanojo wa shigoto no tame ni kaigai e tokou shita.
She went abroad for work.
容疑者は警察に引き渡された。
Yougisha wa keisatsu ni hikiwatasareta.
The suspect was handed over to the police.
彼は二社の橋渡しをする役割を担っている。
Kare wa nisha no hashiwatashi wo suru yakuwari wo ninatte iru.
He acts as mediator between the two companies.
この国は今、新しい制度への過渡期にある。
Kono kuni wa ima, atarashii seido e no katoki ni aru.
This country is currently in a transitional period toward a new system.
Memory Tip
Picture a traveler at the edge of a wide river, measuring (度) how far they must wade through the water (氵) to reach the opposite bank. The three water strokes on the left are the current rushing past. 度 on the right is the distance being measured — how many steps to cross? That image covers both meanings: physically crossing over, and reaching across a desk to hand something to another person. "Water + measure = cross over and hand over."