流汗 (liú hàn) — to sweat, to perspire | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

'To sweat / perspire' — a vivid way of saying 汗 flows from the body, slightly more literary or descriptive than the plain verb 出汗.

verb

to sweatto perspire

Examples

。
Tā yùn dòng zhī hòu liú le hěn duō hàn.
He sweated a lot after exercising.
。
Wǒ jīn tiān liú le sān cì hàn.
I sweated three times today.
，流汗。
Tiān qì tài rè le, wǒ yì zhí zài liú hàn.
The weather is too hot; I've been sweating all the time.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

流 gives the flowing action, while 汗 is the sweat, so the meaning is to sweat.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

干

干gān汗hàn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

汗 has 水, the water form, beside 干; 水 relates to liquid sweat, while 干 gives the sound.

Appears in

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