流量

• Pinyin: liú liàng
• Hanzi breakdown: 流 = 氵+ 㐬 (water flowing); 量 = 日 + 里 (to measure)

Meaning

Flow rate; traffic volume. The measured amount of water, data, or people passing through a point within a given time.

Used in hydrology (water flow rate), digital contexts (internet traffic/bandwidth), and marketing (social media reach). Especially prominent in the age of digital influencers and data analytics.

Examples

1. 这条河的流量在汛期显著增加，对下游地区造成了较大的防洪压力。 The river’s flow rate increases significantly during flood season, putting heavy pressure on flood control in downstream areas.
2. 网站在促销活动期间流量激增，服务器一度出现过载。 During the promotion, the website’s traffic surged, and the servers were briefly overloaded.
3. 该网红的单条视频流量突破了一千万，创下了平台纪录。 Traffic on a single video from that influencer surpassed ten million views, setting a platform record.

Usage Guide

Context: technology, hydrology, media

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这个账号每天的流量非常可观，吸引了大量广告商的关注。(This account's daily traffic volume is considerable, attracting the attention of many advertisers.)
• 工程师正在监测水库出口的流量，以确保下游安全。(Engineers are monitoring the flow rate at the reservoir outlet to ensure downstream safety.)

Don't Say

• 将流量与流速混用 — 流量 refers to volume or traffic count, while 流速 refers to the speed of flow (Don't confuse 流量 meaning volume/count with 流速 meaning speed of flow)

Origin & History

流 (to flow) + 量 (measure/amount)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal