流
liú
to flow
to disseminate; to circulate or spread; to move or drift; to degenerate; to banish or send into exile; stream of water or sth resembling one; class, rate or grade
water (氵) + phonetic (㐬) = to flow and circulate
㐬 gives the sound liú; the water radical carries all the meaning, evoking water finding its course. From flowing water the word extends to circulation, spreading, and even drifting into exile.
河里的水慢慢地向东流。
hé lǐ de shuǐ màn màn de xiàng dōng liú。
The water in the river flows slowly eastward.
这首歌在网上广泛流传，很多人都听过。
zhè shǒu gē zài wǎng shàng guǎng fàn liú chuán，hěn duō rén dōu tīng guò。
This song has spread widely online and many people have heard it.
Words with 流
流居
liú jū
to live in exile
者流
zhě liú
(after a personal attribute) people who have that attribute; people of that type
迳流
jìng liú
runoff
双一流
shuāng yī liú
Double First-Class University Plan, Chinese government project to develop both a group of Chinese universities and a group of subject disciplines to be world-class by 2050, implemented from 2017
镇流器
zhèn liú qì
electrical ballast
铁打的衙门，流水的官
tiě dǎ de yá men , liú shuǐ de guān
lit. the yamen is strong as iron, the officials flow like water (idiom)
长江流域
cháng jiāng liú yù
Changjiang or Yangtze river basin
长流水，不断线
cháng liú shuǐ , bù duàn xiàn
continuous and patient effort (idiom)
开源节流
kāi yuán jié liú
lit. to open a water source and reduce outflow (idiom); to increase income and save on spending
限流
xiàn liú
to limit the flow of passengers, customers or vehicles
随大流
suí dà liú
to follow the crowd
随波逐流
suí bō zhú liú
to drift with the waves and go with the flow (idiom); to follow the crowd blindly