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泥石流 (ní shí liú) — mudslide, debris flow

Definition

noun
mudslidedebris flow
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 泥石流。
    Qù nián zhè ge cūn zhuāng bèi yì chǎng yán zhòng de ní shí liú huǐ huài le.
    Last year this village was destroyed by a severe mudslide.
  • 泥石流。
    Zhòng shù hé xiū jiàn shuǐ kù kě yǐ yù fáng ní shí liú.
    Planting trees and building reservoirs can prevent debris flows.
  • 泥石流，。
    ní shí liú Fā shēng shí, yào gǎn jǐn pǎo xiàng ān quán de dì fāng.
    When a mudslide occurs, hurry to a safe place.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

泥石mud and stones
泥nímud石shístone
联合Coordinate
流liúflow

泥 and 石 name mud and stones, and 流 names a flow, together describing a flow of mud and stones.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
尼
尼ní泥nì
Same sound today

The left side is 氵, the water part; the right side is 尼, which gives the sound.

Open 泥 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Open 石 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐬
㐬㐬流liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

Open 流 →
Appears in
Environment & EcologyGeography & Landforms

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