TongTong
Sign in

流派 (liú pài) — school (of thought, art, literature, music, etc.); tributary (of a river)

Definition

流派 groups thinkers, artists, or writers who share a style or approach into a 'school' — distinct from 支流, which refers only to a river tributary sharing the same 流水-root.

noun
school (of thought, art, literature, music, etc.)tributary (of a river)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 流派。
    Zhè ge huà jiā kāi chuàng le zì jǐ de yì shù liú pài.
    This painter founded his own school of art.
  • ，流派。
    Zài wén xué pī píng zhōng, xīn liú pài bú duàn dì yǒng xiàn.
    In literary criticism, new schools keep emerging.
  • 流派。
    Zhè tiáo dà hé de liú pài yǒu jǐ shí tiáo.
    This big river has dozens of tributaries.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

流liústream
派pàibranch

The senses of 流 and 派 as a stream or branch combine to name a school or tributary.

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 →

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; river
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂢
𠂢𠂢派pài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

派 is built from 水 (water/river) and 𠂢. 𠂢 gives the sound, and 水 was added later to tell the character apart from the older form.

Open 派 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.