游水 (yóu shuǐ) — (colloquial) to swim

Definition

游水 is the colloquial way to say 'swim,' mainly spoken in southern Chinese (especially Cantonese-influenced regions). For a more standard or neutral verb, use 游泳.

verb
(colloquial) to swim
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，游水！
    Tiān tài rè le, wǒ men qù yóu shuǐ ba!
    It's too hot — let's go swimming!
  • 。
    Tā zuó tiān zài hé lǐ yóu le yí gè xiǎo shí shuǐ.
    He swam in the river for an hour yesterday.
  • 游水，。
    Wǒ cóng xiǎo jiù huì yóu shuǐ, shì bà ba jiào wǒ de.
    I've known how to swim since I was little — my dad taught me.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

游yóuswim
水shuǐwater

游 (swim) and 水 (water) combine for the act of swimming.

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
斿
斿yóu游yóu
Same sound today

游 combines 水 (water) with 斿, which gives the sound yóu and also relates to travelling.

Open 游 →

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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