流
流 (liú) means “to flow”. It is made of 氵 + 㐬 and has 10 strokes, and is an HSK 4 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
Break 流 into its parts
What 流 is made of
- 氵 shuǐ — water
- 㐬 liú — pennant
- 亠 tóu — lid
- 丶 — dot
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 厶 sī — private
- 川 chuān — stream
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 亠 tóu — lid
Origin hint: 氵 gives the meaning, 㐬 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
流 stroke order
Example sentences
河水流得很快。Hé shuǐ liú de hěn kuài.The river flows very fast.
水从这里流出来。Shuǐ cóng zhèlǐ liú chūlái.The water flows out from here.
Words with 流
- 流利liúlìfluent
- 流行liúxíngpopular
- 交流jiāoliúto communicate
- 潮流cháoliútrend
- 流传liúchuánto spread
- 流泪liúlèito shed tears
- 轮流lúnliúto take turns
- 川流不息chuānliúbùxīnever-ending flow (of people, traffic)
- 流浪liúlàngto wander
- 流露liúlùto reveal
- 流氓liúmánghoodlum
- 流通liútōngto circulate
- 一流yīliúfirst-rate
- 支流zhīliútributary
- 主流zhǔliúmainstream
Also built with 氵
- 汁zhījuice
- 汇huìto send (money)
- 汉hànHan
- 汗hànsweat
- 江jiāngriver
- 池chípool
- 污wūfilthy
- 汤tāngsoup
- 汰tàito eliminate
- 汹xiōngturbulent
- 汽qìsteam
- 沃wòto water
Quick facts
| Pinyin | liú |
|---|---|
| Meaning | to flow |
| Strokes | 10 |
| Radical | 水 (water, #85) |
| Pattern | Left–right |
| HSK | HSK 4 (exam 2025) · HSK 2 (2021) |
Questions about 流
What does 流 mean?
流 (liú) means “to flow”.
How many strokes does 流 have?
流 has 10 strokes.
What is the radical of 流?
The radical of 流 is 水 (shuǐ, “water”), Kangxi radical number 85.
What parts make up 流?
流 is made of 氵 (water) and 㐬 (pennant).
Which HSK level is 流?
流 is in HSK 4 (exam 2025) and HSK 2 (2021).
Learn 流 with its group
It is part of HSK 2 (2021) · Group 51: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.