Meaning
water
Chinese: 水、液体或与河流湖海有关的事物。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “shui” becomes a different word in each tone. 水 is the 3rd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 水果shuǐ guǒfruit
- 水平shuǐ pínghorizontal; level; a standard; a level (of ability, development etc)
- 药水yào shuǐmedicine in liquid form; bottled medicine; lotion
- 矿泉水kuàng quán shuǐmineral water
- 凉水liáng shuǐcool water; unboiled water
Example Sentence
清清的水从山间慢慢流过。Qīng qīng de shuǐ cóng shān jiān màn màn liú guò.Clear water slowly flows through the mountains.
清Qīng(of water etc) clear清qīng(of water etc) clear的deof水shuǐShui ethnic group从cóngfrom山shānmountain间jiānbetween慢慢màn mànslowly流liúto flow过guòto cross。
Memory Note
The character began as a picture of flowing water. Many water-related characters use the water radical.
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A pictograph of flowing water: a central current with droplets or smaller streams on each side. As a left-hand radical it is written 氵, as in 河, 海, 江.
A way to remember it
A main stream in the middle with spray flicking off both sides.
Easy to confuse with
- 永‘Eternal’: built on 水 with an added top stroke; famous for containing all eight basic brush strokes.