刘 (liú): (classical) a type of battle-ax, to kill, to slaughter
刘 (liú) is a Chinese character meaning “(classical) a type of battle-ax.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 文 (phonetic) and 刂 (semantic). It ranks #751 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 刘 knife. Its radical form 刂 (knife) appears in many related characters such as 分 (fēn, to divide), 别 (bié, to leave), 到 (dào, to reach).
Definitions
- (classical) a type of battle-ax
- to kill
- to slaughter
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 刘 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 刘海 | liú hǎi | bangs |
| 刘德华 | liú dé huá | Andy Lau (1961-), Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actor |
| 刘翔 | liú xiáng | Liu Xiang (1983-), Chinese gold-medal hurdler of the 2004 Olympic Games |
| 刘光第 | liú guāng dì | Liu Guangdi (1859-1898), one of the Six Gentlemen Martyrs 戊戌六君子[Wu4 xu1 Liu4 jun1 zi5] of the unsuccessful reform mov... |
| 刘天华 | liú tiān huá | Liu Tianhua (1895-1932), Chinese musician and composer |
| 刘心武 | liú xīn wǔ | Liu Xinwu (1942-), novelist |
| 刘少奇 | liú shào qí | Liu Shaoqi (1898-1969), Chinese communist leader, a martyr of the Cultural Revolution |
| 刘向 | liú xiàng | Liu Xiang (77-6 BC), Han Dynasty scholar and author |
| 刘表 | liú biǎo | Liu Biao (142-208), warlord |
| 刘安 | liú ān | Liu An (179-122 BC), King of Huainan under the Western Han, ordered the writing of the 淮南子[Huai2 nan2 zi5] |
| 刘宋时代 | liú sòng shí dài | Song of the Southern dynasties (420-479), with capital at Nanjing |
| 刘金宝 | liú jīn bǎo | Liu Jinbao (1952-), CEO of the Bank of China (Hong Kong) 1997-2003, jailed after being convicted of embezzlement |
| 刘公岛 | liú gōng dǎo | Liugong island in the Yellow sea |
| 刘贵今 | liú guì jīn | Liu Guijin (1945–), Chinese diplomat, ambassador to South Africa 2001–2007 |
| 刘基 | liú jī | Liu Ji or Liu Bowen 劉伯溫|刘伯温[Liu2 Bo2 wen1] (1311-1375), general under the first Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang 朱元璋[Zhu1 Y... |
刘 appears in 45 compound words: 98 as the first character, 0 as the last, and 2 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 刘 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
学习刘字需要反复练习,才能写得工整。
xué xí liú zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering the character "刘" requires repeated practice to achieve neat handwriting.
幸福鲜奶周新北学生超商兑换鲜奶 刘和然化身一日店长
xìng fú xiān nǎi zhōu xīn běi xué shēng chāo shāng duì huàn xiān nǎi liú hé rán huà shēn yī rì diàn cháng
Happy Fresh Milk Week New Taipei Student Supermarket Exchange Fresh Milk Liu Heran incarnated as a one-day store manager
刘美贤冬奥花滑夺金 父亲拒中国金钱招揽
liú měi xián dōng ào huā huá duó jīn fù qīn jù zhōng guó jīn qián zhāo lǎn
Liu Meixian won gold in figure skating at the Winter Olympics, and her father refused China's money solicitation
酒局洗脸球星尪 刘雨柔暴怒:孩子不是我一人
jiǔ jú xǐ liǎn qiú xīng 尪 liú yǔ róu bào nù : hái zǐ bù shì wǒ yī rén
Liu Yurou was furious: I am not the only child in the country
古天乐现身演协春茗送惊喜 刘江演艺贡献获表扬:我未够资格
gǔ tiān lè xiàn shēn yǎn xié chūn 茗 sòng jīng xǐ liú jiāng yǎn yì gòng xiàn huò biǎo yáng : wǒ wèi gòu zī gé
Louis Koo appeared in the Spring Tea of the Acting Association to send a surprise Liu Jiang's acting contribution was praised: I am not qualified enough
刘大年/中国大陆贸易顺差的意涵
liú dà nián zhōng guó dà lù mào yì shùn chā de yì hán
Liu Danian/The meaning of Chinese mainland's trade surplus
刘备和诸葛亮是一支无法战胜的队伍。
Liú Bèi hé Zhūgě Liàng shì yī zhī wúfǎ zhànshèng de duìwǔ.
Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang are an unbeatable team.
过年时,小刘的单位给每位员工发一袋面粉。
Guònián shí, Xiǎo Liú de dānwèi gěi měi wèi yuángōng fā yīdài miànfěn.
For the new year, Liu's company gives every employee a bag of flour.
刘晓波是中国人。
Liú Xiǎobō shì Zhōngguórén.
Liu Xiaobo is Chinese.
我很想告诉给我理发的女士我不喜欢留刘海。
Wǒ hěn xiǎng gàosu gěi wǒ lǐfà de nǚshì wǒ bù xǐhuan liú liúhǎi.
I'd love to be able to tell the lady who cuts my hair that I don’t like bangs.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 刘 (liú) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 刘 and 蚊?
How many strokes does 刘 have?
What is the radical of 刘?
What are the components of 刘?
What are common words containing 刘?
What characters sound the same as 刘 (liú)?
Is 刘 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 刘 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.