流

流	U+6D41, 流 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-6D41

流	U+F9CA, 流 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F9CA

← 柳
[U+F9C9]

CJK Compatibility Ideographs

溜 →
[U+F9CB]

流	U+FA97, 流 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-FA97

← 殺
[U+FA96]

CJK Compatibility Ideographs

滛 →
[U+FA98]

流	U+2F902, 流 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-2F902

← 海
[U+2F901]

CJK Compatibility Ideographs Supplement

浩 →
[U+2F903]

Translingual

Stroke order
Mainland China, Japan and Korea

Stroke order
Taiwan

Alternative forms

In mainland China (based on Xin Zixing character form), Japanese kanji, Korean hanja and Vietnamese Nôm, the upper right component 𠫓 is written ⿱亠厶 (4 strokes) while the bottom right stroke is written 乚 with an ending hook which is the historical form found in the Kangxi Dictionary.
In Taiwan and Hong Kong (based on Big5 character form), the upper right component 𠫓 is written ⿻一厶 (3 strokes) while the bottom right stroke is written ㇄ without the ending hook.
Three CJK compatibility ideographs exist for this character:
- U+F9CA corresponds to a duplicate character found in South Korea's KS X 1001 character set.
- U+FA97 corresponds to an alternative form used in North Korea which is similar to the character used in Taiwan/Hong Kong.
- U+2F902 corresponds to an alternative form used in Taiwan which is similar to the character used in mainland China/Japan/Korea but the bottom right stroke is written ㇄ without the ending hook.

Han character

流 (Kangxi radical 85, 水+7, 9 strokes in traditional Chinese, 10 strokes in mainland China and Japanese and Korean, cangjie input 水卜戈山 (EYIU), four-corner 3411₃, composition ⿰氵㐬(GJKV or U+F9CA or U+2F902) or ⿰氵⿱𠫓⿲丿丨㇄(HT or U+FA97))

Derived characters

𠺩, 𭱛, 𣹭, 蓅, 𥧕, 𥰤, 𡏬, 𭒐, 𬈰, 瑬, 𮋠, 鎏, 𪃂, 𩙣

Descendants

ル (Katakana character derived from Man'yōgana)

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 623, character 4
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 17572
Dae Jaweon: page 1019, character 7
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1631, character 12
Unihan data for U+6D41

Unihan data for U+F9CA

Unihan data for U+FA97

Unihan data for U+2F902

Chinese

trad.		流
simp. ^#		流
alternative forms		汖㳅𡵰𣳛𭰈汖㳅𡵰𣳛𭰈𣴑𣹭𣹳𣻤 ⿰氵巟 ⿰氵𡿮 ⿰𣴑水 ⿲水𡿮水 ⿲氺⿱一𠫝水 ⿰氵⿱厶⿲丿丨㇏

Wikipedia has an article on:

流

Wikipedia has articles on:

流 (数学) (Written Standard Chinese^?)
Flow (mathematics) (English)

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (流) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
流	*ru
硫	*ru
琉	*ru
旒	*ru
瑬	*ru
裗	*ru

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ru) : semantic 水 (“water”) + phonetic 㐬 ().

Etymology

Cognate with Tibetan རྒྱུ་ (rgyu, “to move, to go, to wander”) (Hill, 2019).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): liú (liu²)

(Zhuyin): ㄌㄧㄡˊ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): niu²

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): лю (li͡u, I)
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): lau⁴

(Taishan, Wiktionary): liu³
Gan (Wiktionary): liu⁴
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): liù

(Meixian, Guangdong): liu²
Jin (Wiktionary): liou¹
Northern Min (KCR): lâu / liǔ
Eastern Min (BUC): làu / liù
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): lâu / liû

(Teochew, Peng'im): lao⁵ / liu⁵
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶lieu
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): liou²

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: liú
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄧㄡˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: lióu
  - Wade–Giles: liu²
  - Yale: lyóu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: liou
  - Palladius: лю (lju)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /li̯oʊ̯³⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: niu²
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: liu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /niəu²¹/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: лю (li͡u, I)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /liou²⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: lau⁴
  - Yale: làuh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: lau⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: leo⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɐu̯²¹/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: liu³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /liu²²/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: liu⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /liu³⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: liù
  - Hakka Romanization System: liu^ˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: liu²
  - Sinological IPA: /li̯u¹¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: liu²
  - Sinological IPA: /liu¹¹/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: liou¹
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /liəu¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: lâu / liǔ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lau³³/, /liu²¹/

Note:

lâu - vernacular;
liǔ - literary.

Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: làu / liù
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃au⁵³/, /l̃ieu⁵³/

Note:

làu - vernacular;
liù - literary.

Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Zhangpu, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lâu
  - Tâi-lô: lâu
  - Phofsit Daibuun: laau
  - IPA (Zhangpu): /lau²¹³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /lau²³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Taipei): /lau²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /lau¹³/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Zhangpu, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: liû
  - Tâi-lô: liû
  - Phofsit Daibuun: liuu
  - IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Taipei): /liu²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /liu²³/
  - IPA (Zhangpu): /liu²¹³/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /liu¹³/

Note:

lâu - vernacular;
liû - literary.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: lao⁵ / liu⁵
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lâu / liû
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /lau⁵⁵/, /liu⁵⁵/

Note:

lao5 - vernacular;
liu5 - literary.

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶lieu
  - MiniDict: lieu^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³lieu
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /liɤ²³/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: liou²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /li̯əu̯¹³/

Middle Chinese: ljuw

Rime
Character	流
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	尤 (136)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	力求切
Baxter	ljuw
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/lɨu/
Pan Wuyun	/liu/
Shao Rongfen	/liəu/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/luw/
Li Rong	/liu/
Wang Li	/lĭəu/
Bernhard Karlgren	/li̯ə̯u/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	liú
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lau⁴

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*ru/

(Zhengzhang): /*ru/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	流
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	liú
Middle Chinese	‹ ljuw ›
Old Chinese	/*ru/
English	flow (v.)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	流
Reading #	1/1
No.	8335
Phonetic component	流
Rime group	幽
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	劉
Old Chinese	/*ru/
Notes	或爲毓省聲

Definitions

流

to flow
流汗 ― liúhàn ― to sweat

流淚／流泪 ― liúlèi ― to cry; to let tears flow

流血 ― liúxuè ― to bleed
- 地震，梁山崩，壅河，三日不流。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]
  From: The Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals
  Dìzhèn, Liángshān bēng, yōng hé, sān rì bù liú. [Pinyin]
  The earth trembled, and Mount Liang collapsed. It blocked a river which did not flow for three days.
to drift; to wander
流連／流连 ― liúlián ― to linger; to be reluctant to leave
class; grade
一流 ― yīliú ― first class; top grade
(of water, electricity, other fluids) current; flow; stream
氣流／气流 ― qìliú ― airflow

電流／电流 ― diànliú ― electric current
to spread; to scatter; to disseminate
Synonyms: 留傳／留传 (liúchuán), 散佈／散布 (sànbù)

流言 ― liúyán ― rumors; gossip

流芳 ― liúfāng ― to leave a good reputation
(physics) Short for 流明 (liúmíng, “lumen”).
(mathematics) flow
(computing) stream
(Cantonese, Hakka) of poor quality
流嘢 [Cantonese] ― lau⁴ je⁵ [Jyutping] ― poor-quality goods
(Cantonese) fake; ingenuine
Antonym: 堅／坚 (gin¹) (Cantonese)

流料 [Cantonese] ― lau⁴ liu^6-2 [Jyutping] ― false information; fake news

Compounds

Japanese

Shinjitai	流
Kyūjitai ^[1]^[2]^[3]	流󠄂 流+`󠄂`^? (Hanyo-Denshi) (Moji_Joho)
The displayed kanji may be different from the image due to your environment. See here for details.

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

流

Wikipedia ^ja

Kanji

流

(Third grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

Go-on: る (ru, Jōyō ^†)^{←る (ru, historical)}
Kan-on: りゅう (ryū, Jōyō)^{←りう (riu, historical)}
Kun: ながす (nagasu, 流す, Jōyō)、ながれる (nagareru, 流れる, Jōyō)
Nanori: しく (shiku)、とも (tomo)、はる (haru)

Compounds

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 流 (MC ljuw).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) りゅう [ryúꜜù] (Atamadaka – [1])^[4]
IPA^(key): [ɾʲɨː]

Noun

流(りゅう) • (ryū) ^{←りう (riu)^?}

the flow of water or something like water
art forms, methods, styles, and techniques peculiar to a person or house

Affix

流(りゅう) • (ryū) ^{←りう (riu)^?}

Derived terms

References

^ 白川静 (Shirakawa Shizuka) (2014) “流”, in 字通 (Jitsū)‎^[1] (in Japanese), popular edition, Tōkyō: Heibonsha, →ISBN
^ Haga, Gōtarō (1914) 漢和大辞書 [The Great Kanji-Japanese Dictionary] (in Japanese), Fourth edition, Tōkyō: Kōbunsha, →DOI, page 1273 (paper), page 687 (digital)
^ Shōundō Henshūjo, editor (1927), 新漢和辞典 [The New Kanji-Japanese Dictionary] (in Japanese), Ōsaka: Shōundō, →DOI, page 752 (paper), page 389 (digital)
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 流 (MC ljuw). Recorded as Middle Korean 류 (lyu) (Yale: lyu) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

流

Wikisource

流 (eumhun 흐를 류 (heureul ryu), word-initial (South Korea) 흐를 유 (heureul yu))

hanja form^? of 류/유 (“flow”)

Compounds

교류 (交流, gyoryu)
기류 (氣流, giryu)
난류 (暖流, nallyu)
물류 (物流, mullyu)
유동 (流動, yudong)
유성 (流星, yuseong)
유역 (流域, yuyeok)
유입 (流入, yuip)
유체 (流體, yuche)
유출 (流出, yuchul)
유통 (流通, yutong)
유포 (流布, yupo)
급류 (急流, geumnyu)
전류 (電流, jeollyu)
조류 (潮流, joryu)
주류 (主流, juryu)
표류 (漂流, pyoryu)
풍류 (風流, pungnyu)
해류 (海流, haeryu)
한류 (韓流, hallyu)
유행 (流行, yuhaeng, “fashion; vogue”)

References

국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

Vietnamese

Han character

流: Hán Việt readings: lưu^[1]^[2]^[3]
流: Nôm readings: lưu^[1]^[2]

stream; flow

References

[1] 白川静 (Shirakawa Shizuka) (2014) “流”, in 字通 (Jitsū)‎^[1] (in Japanese), popular edition, Tōkyō: Heibonsha, →ISBN

[2] Haga, Gōtarō (1914) 漢和大辞書 [The Great Kanji-Japanese Dictionary] (in Japanese), Fourth edition, Tōkyō: Kōbunsha, →DOI, page 1273 (paper), page 687 (digital)

[3] Shōundō Henshūjo, editor (1927), 新漢和辞典 [The New Kanji-Japanese Dictionary] (in Japanese), Ōsaka: Shōundō, →DOI, page 752 (paper), page 389 (digital)

[DJR-4] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[tdcndg-5] 1.0 ^1.1 Nguyễn (2014).

[tdcntd-6] 2.0 ^2.1 Nguyễn et al. (2009).

[gdhn-7] Trần (2004).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

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[2]

[3]