主流 (zhǔ liú) — mainstream; main current | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

主流 refers to the dominant trend or prevailing view in a culture, field, or society. 主力 instead names the strongest group or force actually doing the work (the team's main players, an army's main body).

noun

mainstreammain current

Examples

主流。
Zhè zhǒng sī xiǎng yǐ jīng chéng wéi zhǔ liú.
This kind of thinking has already become mainstream.
主流。
zhǔ liú Méi tǐ yīng gāi fā bù zhēn shí de xìn xī.
Mainstream media should publish truthful information.
主流。
zhǔ liú Qū shì zhèng zài gǎi biàn wǒ men de shēng huó fāng shì.
Mainstream trends are changing our way of life.

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.

主 means main and 流 means stream, making the main current.

Characters in this word

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Abstract Concepts

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