What is the difference between "河" and "川"?


I saw the first (河) used for "Hippopotamus", literally mimicking the Greek
name (River Horse) but I expected to see 川 in its place...

Also, apparently you can use "河川" to mean river*s* (plural)?

But when would you use one and when the other? Or are these completely
interchangeable?




When you type in the word, many IMEs will also display a side dictionary with
supplemental information. On my PC, for 川 is says: （一般的）川が流れる、川を渡る、三途（さんず）の川.
For 河, it says: （限定的）（外国の）大きな川。→川.

Hence, 川 is general while 河 is limited in usage and typically represents
(foreign) large rivers. In addition, 河 often refers to the Yellow River (黄河).

That being the case, do not forget that "kawa" is a Japanese word. It existed
before the introduction of kanji to Japan. Chinese has multiple words for
"river". Japanese "kawa" does not distinguish between 川 or 河 like Chinese. It
is the this application of Chinese to express Japanese words that has created
this problem.




When you type in the word, many IMEs will also display a side dictionary with
supplemental information. On my PC, for 川 is says: （一般的）川が流れる、川を渡る、三途（さんず）の川.
For 河, it says: （限定的）（外国の）大きな川。→川.

Hence, 川 is general while 河 is limited in usage and typically represents
(foreign) large rivers. In addition, 河 often refers to the Yellow River (黄河).

That being the case, do not forget that "kawa" is a Japanese word. It existed
before the introduction of kanji to Japan. Chinese has multiple words for
"river". Japanese "kawa" does not distinguish between 川 or 河 like Chinese. It
is the this application of Chinese to express Japanese words that has created
this problem.

