The kanji character 河 represents "river" or "stream". It signifies a body of flowing water.

・On-yomi (音読み): カ (ka) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): かわ (kawa)

⚫︎河川 Translation: rivers and streams ⚫︎河口 Translation: river mouth ⚫︎河童 Translation: kappa (a mythical water imp creature)

The kanji 河 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The left side is the water radical, 氵 (also written as 水), indicating the meaning of water. The right side is 可 (ka), which provides the sound of the kanji. Originally, 可 itself represented something that could be done or allowed. The combination of 氵 and 可 creates the meaning of "river" or "flowing water" and also gives a hint on the pronunciation.