溜走 (liù zǒu) — to sneak away, to slip off

Definition

A vivid verb meaning to slip or sneak away quietly, usually to avoid being noticed. It implies movement (someone actually leaves), unlike abstract ‘escape’ senses.

verb
to sneak awayto slip off

Examples

  • ，溜走。
    Tā chèn méi rén zhù yì, qiāo qiāo de cóng hòu mén liù zǒu le.
    He sneaked away through the back door when no one was watching.
  • 溜走，。
    Xiǎo tōu liù zǒu, jǐng chá zài hòu miàn zhuī.
    The thief slipped away, and the police chased after him.
  • ，溜走。
    Huì yì tài wú liáo, tā tí qián liù zǒu le.
    The meeting was too boring, so he sneaked away early.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

溜liūslip
走zǒugo

溜 slip and 走 go together mean to sneak away.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
留
留liú溜liù
Same sound today

The left part 氵 shows water; the right part 留 gives the sound. The evidence connects 溜 to a river name.

Open 溜 →

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

The original shape showed a running man, with a foot added later.

Open 走 →

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