流下 (liú xià) — (of liquid) to flow down; (of tears, sweat) to shed, to roll down

Definition

A separable verb meaning liquid flows or rolls down a surface — commonly used for tears (眼泪) and sweat (汗水) running down the body. The object is what flows; insert it between 流 and 下.

verb
(of liquid) to flow down(of tears, sweat) to shedto roll down

Examples

  • 流下。
    Yǔ shuǐ cóng wū dǐng liú xià.
    Rainwater flows down from the roof.
  • 流下。
    Tā gǎn dòng dé liú xià yǎn lèi.
    He was so moved that he shed tears.
  • 。
    Hàn shuǐ cóng é tóu shàng liú xià.
    Sweat flows down from the forehead.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

流liúflow
下xiàdown

流 (flow) and 下 (down) combine to mean flow downward.

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
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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

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