‘水池’ (shuǐ chí) literally combines ‘水’ (shuǐ), meaning ‘water’, and ‘池’ (chí), meaning ‘pool’ or ‘tank’. Together, it refers to a man-made or natural container or depression designed to hold water — such as a decorative garden pond, a swimming pool’s shallow end, a livestock watering trough, or an industrial water storage tank. Unlike the more general term ‘池子’ (chízi), ‘水池’ emphasizes function: it is specifically *for holding water*, not just any basin-like structure.

This word appears frequently in everyday contexts like home renovation (e.g., installing a backyard water pool), agriculture (irrigation reservoirs), and public infrastructure (fire safety tanks). It is neutral in register — appropriate in both spoken and written Chinese — and often appears with measure words like ‘个’ (gè) or ‘座’ (zuò) depending on size and formality. While ‘池’ alone can sometimes imply water, adding ‘水’ clarifies purpose and avoids ambiguity with unrelated uses of ‘池’ (e.g., ‘电池’ diànchí, ‘battery’).