干流 (gàn liú) — trunk stream (main channel of a river); mainstream (dominant trend or current)

Definition

noun
trunk stream (main channel of a river)mainstream (dominant trend or current)
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 干流，。
    Zhè tiáo hé de gàn liú hěn cháng, zhī liú yě hěn duō.
    The trunk stream of this river is very long, and it has many tributaries.
  • 干流。
    Xué shù jiè de gàn liú guān diǎn zhèng zài fā shēng biàn huà.
    The mainstream view in academia is changing.
  • 干流。
    Cháng jiāng de gàn liú liú jīng duō gè shěng fèn.
    The trunk stream of the Yangtze River flows through multiple provinces.

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.

干gāntrunk; main
流liústream

干 gives the sense of trunk or main, and 流 is a stream, so a main channel.

Characters in this word

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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 →

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