流域 (liú yù) — river basin, drainage basin | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

流域 is the area drained by a river system (the land + tributaries feeding one main river). Unlike the general 区域/地域, it is a geographic unit defined by water flow.

noun

river basindrainage basin

Examples

流域。
Zhè ge liú yù de shuǐ zī yuán fēi cháng fēng fù.
This river basin has abundant water resources.
流域。
Bǎo hù liú yù de shēng tài huán jìng fēi cháng zhòng yào.
Protecting the ecological environment of the river basin is very important.
淮。
Huái hé liú yù shì zhōng guó zhòng yào de nóng yè qū.
The Huai River basin is an important agricultural area in China.

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.

"流" (flow) and "域" (area) together mean the area drained by a flow.

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.

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

土或域

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

或

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

域 uses 土, earth or soil, to show it is about land, and 或 to suggest its pronunciation.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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