流利 (liú lì) — fluent | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Used mainly for spoken language ('fluent speech'), especially languages. 流畅 is broader, covering writing and movement too. 顺利 means 'smooth/successful' for tasks and events, not language.

adjective

fluent

Examples

流利。
Tā shuō yīng yǔ shuō dé hěn liú lì.
She speaks English very fluently.
流利。
Tā yòng le shí nián cái bǎ zhōng wén shuō dé zhè me liú lì.
It took him ten years to speak Chinese this fluently.
流利？
Nǐ néng liú lì de dú zhè piān wén zhāng ma?
Can you read this article fluently?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

利lìsmooth

The 流 (flow) and 利 (smooth) senses combine to describe something running smoothly.

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.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

禾禾hégrain
刀刀dāoknife

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 HSK 2.0 Level 4 Language

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