溉 (gài): to irrigate

Meanings

农民用河水灌溉农田。

Nóngmín yòng héshuǐ guàngài nóngtián.

Farmers use river water to irrigate the fields.

这条水渠能灌溉万顷良田。

Zhè tiáo shuǐqú néng guàngài wàn qǐng liángtián.

This canal can irrigate ten thousand hectares of farmland.

usage

溉 appears almost only in 灌溉 (to irrigate), the standard word for watering crops through channels or pumps.

radical

氵 shuǐ

water (left-side form of 水)

The three-drop water radical (left-side form of 水) gives the meaning: directing water to the fields.

phonetic

既 jì

already; since

On the right 既 supplies the sound, shifted from jì to gài. It serves purely as the phonetic element.

溉 gài