liú

to flow, to drift, to circulate

HSK 4 10 strokes
Stroke order animation for 流

Words with this Character

liú HSK 4
交流 jiāo liú HSK 4
to exchange
流泪 liú lèi HSK 4
to shed tears
流利 liú lì HSK 4
fluent
流行 liú xíng HSK 4
(of a contagious disease etc) to spread
河流 héliú HSK 5
河流
流传 liú chuán HSK 5
to spread
流感 liúgǎn HSK 5
流感
轮流 lún liú HSK 5
to alternate; to take turns
潮流 cháo liú HSK 6
tide
流程 liúchéng HSK 6
流程
流动 liúdòng HSK 6
流动
流浪 liú làng HSK 6
to drift about
流量 liúliàng HSK 6
流量
流露 liú lù HSK 6
to reveal (indirectly, implicitly)
流氓 liú máng HSK 6
rogue
流入 liúrù HSK 6
流入
流通 liú tōng HSK 6
to circulate; to distribute
水流 shuǐliú HSK 6
水流
一流 yī liú HSK 6
top quality
支流 zhī liú HSK 6
tributary (river)
主流 zhǔ liú HSK 6
main stream (of a river)
川流不息 chuān liú bù xī HSK 6
the stream flows without stopping (idiom); unending flow
对流 duìliú HSK 7
对流
风流 fēngliú HSK 7
风流
客流 kèliú HSK 7
客流
流畅 liúchàng HSK 7
流畅
流派 liúpài HSK 7
流派
流失 liúshī HSK 7
流失
流逝 liúshì HSK 7
流逝
流水 liúshuǐ HSK 7
流水
流淌 liútǎng HSK 7
流淌
流向 liúxiàng HSK 7
流向
流血 liúxuè HSK 7
流血
流域 liúyù HSK 7
流域
流转 liúzhuǎn HSK 7
流转
漂流 piāoliú HSK 7
漂流
气流 qìliú HSK 7
气流
物流 wùliú HSK 7
物流
源远流长 yuányuǎn-liúcháng HSK 7
源远流长

Core Meaning

The character primarily means 'to flow' or 'to move continuously,' often used for liquids like water or abstract concepts like time or information.

Extended Uses

Besides literal flowing, can describe the spread or circulation of information, emotions, or trends. For example, '消息流传' means news spreading.

Common Collocations

  • 流水 (liúshuǐ): flowing water
  • 流行 (liúxíng): popular, fashionable (literally 'flowing and prevailing')
  • 流泪 (liúlèi): to shed tears

Usage Notes

When used in phrases like '流露,' it conveys the idea of emotions or thoughts naturally showing or leaking out. Avoid confusing with similar verbs like (zǒu, to walk/go) which imply deliberate movement rather than continuous flow.

Register and Tone

is neutral and widely used in both spoken and written Chinese. It appears in formal contexts (scientific descriptions of flow) and informal speech (talking about trends or feelings).

Example Sentences

河水缓缓地流过山谷。

Héshuǐ huǎnhuǎn de liú guò shāngǔ.

The river water flows slowly through the valley.

消息很快就在朋友圈里流传开了。

Xiāoxi hěn kuài jiù zài péngyǒu quān lǐ liúchuán kāi le.

The news quickly spread among the circle of friends.

他的话语中流露出真诚的感情。

Tā de huàyǔ zhōng liúlù chū zhēnchéng de gǎnqíng.

Sincerity flows from his words.