Writing Balance Rule: The left water radical (氵) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right component (留) occupies the remaining two-thirds with a stable, open base.
1. Meaning
to slip away, to escape stealthily
to slide or glideto skate
VerbColloquial#movement#action#behavior
Sample Usage
他趁大家不注意溜走了。
Tā chèn dàjiā bú zhùyì liū zǒu le.
He slipped away while everyone wasn't paying attention.
冬天我们去公园溜冰。
Dōngtiān wǒmen qù gōngyuán liūbīng.
In winter we go ice skating in the park.
2. Sound
/[liʊ̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
溜
liūliu1
|
++
¯(55)
=liū
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
liu
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "u" per the side-by-side rule (in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
l
Type: Alveolar Lateral
Sounds like: l sound
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Air flows freely around both sides of tongue.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip pressed against the alveolar ridge right behind the upper front teeth.
Final Rhyme
iu
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: rhymes with 'ee-oh' glide
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'yo'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: iu is short for iou, with the middle o compressed in rapid speech.
Tone
T1 (55)
5 → 5 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 stays level at the ceiling of your vocal pitch, exactly like humming a steady high note.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing it with Tone 4 liù (six), which drops sharply. Ensure you keep this Tone 1 flat and high.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat musical note held steady at the top of your vocal range, like a soprano singing a sustained high note.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left water radical (氵) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right component (留) occupies the remaining two-thirds with a stable, open base.
4. Components
Radical氵 · Water Radical (water, liquid, flow)
Semantic Clue (形旁):氵 (indicates slippery movement like flowing water or sliding)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):留 (original sound: liú / liū)
Water (氵) plus stay/keep (留) combines to suggest water sliding away, or moving so quietly and fluidly like liquid that you slip away unnoticed.
氵 water / liquid fluidity
留 to stay / phonetic clue for liū
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
10· Phonetic Root: 留 (liú)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from the water signific (氵) indicating slippery motion and the phonetic element (留) which provides the pronunciation.
Semantic Evolution: Originally related to flowing liquids or sliding, it expanded to mean slipping away secretly or gliding across ice.
The phonetic component 留 originally depicted a person stopping, but here it purely provides the sound framework.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
lưu
Mandarin Tone 1 corresponds roughly to ngang tone in Vietnamese.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: リュウ / Kun: すべる
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
류
Sound Shift Bridge: Shared ancient Chinese rhyme groups result in parallel readings across East Asian languages.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
You splash some water (氵) on the floor and try to stay (留), but instead you instantly SLIP AWAY and skate across the room!