溝 is a 13-stroke kanji with radical 氵 (water). It reads こう (on'yomi) and みぞ (kun'yomi), meaning a gutter, ditch, or drain — and by extension, any unbridgeable gap. The left side is 氵 (water flowing); the right side is 冓 (kou), not 構 or the right half of 講, though all three share a visual resemblance.

How to Identify 溝 — "さんずい + 冓"

If you see a character that looks like 氵 (three water dots) combined with something resembling the right side of 構 (かまえ) or 講 (こう), the kanji is 溝 (みぞ).

The right component is 冓 (kou): 爻 stacked over 井, a pictograph of interlocking timber. 構, 購, 講, and 溝 all carry 冓 as their phonetic element; 溝 adds 氵 to specify flowing water in a ditch.

Readings of 溝

• On'yomi: こう — 溝渠 (canal, channel), 暗溝 (covered drain)
• Kun'yomi: みぞ — 溝 (ditch), 溝板 (drain cover), どぶ溝 (open gutter)

Meanings of 溝

• Ditch, gutter, drain — a channel cut in the ground or built into a structure to carry water
• Gap, divide — 溝が深まる (the rift widens); used metaphorically for any hard-to-bridge difference between people or ideas

How to Write 溝 — Structure and Stroke Order

溝 is a left-right character: 氵 on the left, 冓 on the right. With 13 strokes it is easy to crowd, so decide the width split first.

• Three to seven, left to right. Give 氵 roughly 30 % of the width and 冓 the remaining 70 %.
• Three dots of 氵 in rhythm. Bring the top two dots close, then let the final hook sweep outward to lead the eye right.
• Horizontals of 冓 evenly spaced. 冓 stacks many horizontal strokes; keep their intervals equal and run a vertical through the center so the right half stays tall rather than flat.

Expression in Each Script

Kaisho (Regular Script)

Keep the three dots of 氵 clean and uniform; space every horizontal of 冓 at equal intervals with a straight center stroke. Clear hooks and endings on each stroke give the character its composed density.

Gyosho (Semi-Cursive Script)

Write 氵 as a linked sweep leading into 冓; let the horizontals connect in rhythm. Hold the 3:7 proportion so the left side does not overwhelm.

Sosho (Cursive Script)

Reduce 氵 to a single fluid gesture; abbreviate 冓 boldly. The 3:7 width split is the one element that must survive simplification — lose it and the character loses its shape.

Summary

溝 is a 13-stroke, 氵-radical kanji meaning ditch and divide. Its right side is 冓, not 構 or 講. Keep 氵 narrow, let 冓 stand tall, and space its horizontal strokes evenly: the character will hold its form even at complex density.