水 (shuǐ) — water

水 (shuǐ)

Water, the most essential liquid. 水 is one of the most fundamental characters in Chinese, appearing in hundreds of compound words related to liquids, rivers, and flow.

Meanings

1. [noun] Water. The clear liquid essential for life, drinking, and cooking.
2. [noun] Any liquid in general, in some compound words.

Example Sentences

我想喝水。 Wǒ xiǎng hē shuǐ. I want to drink water.

请给我一杯水。 Qǐng gěi wǒ yī bēi shuǐ. Please give me a glass of water.

这里的水很干净。 Zhèlǐ de shuǐ hěn gānjìng. The water here is very clean.

你喝水还是喝茶？ Nǐ hē shuǐ háishì hē chá? Do you drink water or tea?

Collocations

Memory Hook

The character 水 looks like a flowing river with waves. It is one of the oldest Chinese pictographic characters, originally drawn to resemble water flowing in a stream. Trace the strokes and see the flow.