液

yè
noun #4,022

Meanings

  1. 1 liquid; fluid; juice

Examples

HSK 3
Xǐshǒuyè yòng wánle.
The hand soap is used up.
HSK 4
Qǐng duō hē yètǐ.
Please drink more fluids.

Tips

usage
液体 (yètǐ) = liquid, 血液 (xuèyè) = blood, 洗手液 (xǐshǒuyè) = hand soap/sanitizer.

Components

radical
氵 shuǐ
water (radical form)
Left water radical (the side-form of 水), three drops. Marks 液 as a liquid: any flowing or pourable substance. Same radical anchors 河 (river), 海 (sea), 油 (oil), 汤 (soup), 酒 (wine).
phonetic
夜 yè
night
Right-side 夜 supplies the sound, matching the parent's yè exactly. The 'night' meaning may have a faint semantic resonance - bodily fluids (sap, sweat, spittle) were associated with the moisture that gathers at night - but the primary role is phonetic.

Stroke Order

液 yè