• 本州ほんしゅう — Honshu (main island of Japan)
• 九州きゅうしゅう — Kyushu
• 州都しゅうと — state capital
• 州立しゅうりつ — state-run / state-funded
• 欧州おうしゅう — Europe
• 砂州さす — sandbank / reef

州 depicts a sandbank within flowing water—the radical 川 (three-stroke water form) with dots indicating land. The sense broadened from a river islet to a region or administrative area (本州, 欧州).