水 (shuǐ): water, (after a name) ... River, to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[hui4 shui3] and 水性[shui3 xing4])
水 (shuǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “water.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亅 (structural). It ranks #202 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 水 a river running between two banks; compare 川. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam), 没 (méi, (negative prefix for verbs) have not).
Definitions
- water
- (after a name) ... River
- to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[hui4 shui3] and 水性[shui3 xing4])
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA river running between two banks; compare 川
Stroke Order
Practice writing 水 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 水
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 水平noun | shuǐ píng | horizontal | 3 |
| 薪水noun | xīn shuǐ | salary | 6 |
| 水果noun | shuǐ guǒ | fruit | 1 |
| 香水noun | xiāng shuǐ | perfume | 6 |
| 汽水noun | qì shuǐ | soda pop | 4 |
| 水泥noun | shuǐ ní | cement | 6 |
| 水面noun | shuǐ miàn | water surface | 6 |
| 洪水noun | hóng shuǐ | deluge | 6 |
| 泪水noun | lèi shuǐ | teardrop | 5 |
| 胶水noun | jiāo shuǐ | glue | 6 |
| 水流noun | shuǐ liú | river | 6 |
| 雨水noun | yǔ shuǐ | rainwater | 5 |
| 酒水noun | jiǔ shuǐ | beverage | 6 |
| 污水noun | wū shuǐ | sewage | 6 |
| 自来水noun | zì lái shuǐ | running water | 6 |
| 汗水noun | hàn shuǐ | sweat | 5 |
| 水库noun | shuǐ kù | reservoir | 6 |
| 矿泉水noun | kuàng quán shuǐ | mineral water | 3 |
| 水分noun | shuǐ fèn | moisture content | 5 |
| 跳水verb | tiào shuǐ | to dive (into water) | 6 |
| 饮用水noun | yǐn yòng shuǐ | drinking water | 6 |
| 开水noun | kāi shuǐ | boiled water | 5 |
| 热水器noun | rè shuǐ qì | water heater | 6 |
| 降水verb | jiàng shuǐ | rain and snow | 5 |
| 水稻noun | shuǐ dào | rice | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 海水 | hǎi shuǐ | seawater |
| 河水 | hé shuǐ | river water |
| 防水 | fáng shuǐ | waterproof |
| 浇水 | jiāo shuǐ | to water (plants etc) |
| 供水 | gōng shuǐ | to supply water |
| 放水 | fàng shuǐ | to turn on the water |
| 风水 | fēng shuǐ | feng shui |
| 潮水 | cháo shuǐ | tide |
| 淡水 | dàn shuǐ | potable water (water with low salt content) |
水 appears in 100 compound words: 8 as the first character, 91 as the last, and 1 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 水 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (61)
not one drop of water leaks (idiom); fig. thoughtful and completely rigorous; watertight
Showing 12 of 61 idioms containing 水.
Example Sentences
水果店里摆满了各种新鲜的水果，看起来都很诱人。
Shuǐguǒ diàn lǐ bǎi mǎn le gè zhǒng xīnxiān de shuǐguǒ, kàn qǐlai dōu hěn yòurén.
The fruit shop is filled with all kinds of fresh fruits, all looking very tempting.
(新春走基层)福建屏南:古桥“万安”横碧水 乡宴“..
( xīn chūn zǒu jī céng ) fú jiàn bǐng nán : gǔ qiáo wàn ān héng bì shuǐ xiāng yàn . .
(New Year at the grassroots level) Pingnan, Fujian: Guqiao "Wan'an" Hengbi Water Township Banquet":
超标近2000倍 日本石川县一处地下水检出高浓度有..
chāo biāo jìn bèi rì běn shí chuān xiàn yī chǔ dì xià shuǐ jiǎn chū gāo nóng dù yǒu . .
Nearly 2,000 times the limit, a groundwater in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, was found to have high concentrations of...
春运机票大跳水,有人一家四口提前买票亏了4000元..
chūn yùn jī piào dà tiào shuǐ , yǒu rén yī jiā sì kǒu tí qián mǎi piào kuī le yuán . .
Spring Festival airfare dive, someone family of four bought tickets in advance of the loss of 4,000 yuan ...
一杯热水赠归人 一句感谢显温情 环兰高速人:点滴...
yī bēi rè shuǐ zèng guī rén yī gōu gǎn xiè xiǎn wēn qíng huán lán gāo sù rén diǎn dī . . .
A cup of hot water for the traveler A word of thanks shows warmth Huanlan Expressway staff: Every little bit...
永定河山峡段4座梯级水电站累计发电破100亿千瓦时
yǒng dìng hé shān xiá duàn zuò tī jí shuǐ diàn zhàn lěi jì fā diàn pò yì qiān wǎ shí
Cumulative power generation from the four cascade hydropower stations along the mountainous section of the Yongding River surpasses 10 billion kilowatt-hours.
你最喜欢什么水果？
Nǐ zuì xǐhuan shénme shuǐguǒ?
What fruit do you like the best?
什么水果是红色的？
Shénme shuǐguǒ shì hóngsè de?
What fruit is red?
你能带给我一些水吗？
Nǐ néng dàigěi wǒ yīxiē shuǐ ma?
Could you bring me some water?
黑海里的水事实上是黑的吗？
Hēi Hǎi lǐ de shuǐ shìshíshàng shì hēi de ma?
Is the water in the Black Sea actually black?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 水 (shuǐ) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 水?
What are the components of 水?
What are common words containing 水?
What characters sound the same as 水 (shuǐ)?
Is 水 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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