流水

• Pinyin: liú shuǐ
• Hanzi breakdown: 流 = 氵+ 㐬 (flowing); 水 = pictograph of flowing water

Meaning

Running water; flowing water. Can also refer to a continuous flow or turnover, as in revenue or an assembly-line process.

Literally means flowing water, but appears in many compound expressions: 流水线 (assembly line), 流水账 (running account), and the idiom 流水不腐 (running water does not stagnate — implying that constant activity keeps things healthy). Used both literally and figuratively.

Examples

1. 山间溪流的流水声清脆悦耳，让人忘却了城市中的喧嚣。 The sound of running water in the mountain stream was crisp and soothing, making people forget the city’s noise.
2. 工厂引进了先进的流水作业系统，大幅提升了生产效率。 The factory introduced an advanced assembly-line system, greatly boosting production efficiency.
3. 他随手记了一份流水账，记录了这次旅途中所有的开销。 He casually kept a simple running account, recording every expense from the trip.

Usage Guide

Context: nature, business, idiom

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这条山涧的流水终年不断，是附近村庄重要的饮用水来源。(The flowing water of this mountain stream never stops throughout the year and is an important drinking water source for nearby villages.)
• 他们将原有工序改造为流水作业，效率提高了将近三倍。(They converted the original process into an assembly-line workflow, improving efficiency by nearly three times.)

Don't Say

• 将流水账误解为负面意思 — 流水账 simply means a running account or detailed itemised record, not necessarily a criticism (Don't assume 流水账 is pejorative — it just means a detailed itemised record of income and expenditure)

Origin & History

流 (to flow) + 水 (water)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal