TongTong
Sign in

流向 (liú xiàng) — direction of flow; course (of a current, funds, trend, etc.)

Definition

流向 is the abstract 'direction of flow' of a current or movement — the course something takes, not the stuff moving. Pairs with 水流 (water current), 气流 (airflow), 资金 (funds) to specify WHAT is flowing where.

noun
direction of flowcourse (of a current, funds, trend, etc.)

Examples

  • 流向。
    Zhè tiáo hé de liú xiàng shì xiàng dōng de.
    The direction of flow of this river flows is eastward.
  • 流向。
    Wǒ men xū yào fēn xī zī jīn de liú xiàng.
    We need to analyze the direction of fund flows.
  • 流向。
    Shù jù de liú xiàng xiǎn shì le yòng hù de xíng wéi mó shì.
    The direction of data flow reveals user behavior patterns.

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.

流liúflow
向xiàngdirection

"流" (flow) and "向" (direction) together give the direction in which something flows.

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.

Open 流 →

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

向 originally drew 宀 (house) with 口 to show an echo in a place; later it was used for direction.

Open 向 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract ConceptsDirections

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.