interjection

Meanings

  1. 1 the rustling, pattering sound of light rain or wind
  2. 2 to rinse rice (literary)

Examples

Chuāngwài chuánlái xìyǔ xīxī lìlì de shēngyīn.
Outside the window came the soft pattering sound of drizzle.
Xiǎoyǔ xīlì de xià le yīyè.
A fine rain pattered down all night.

Tips

usage
Modern use is almost entirely the rain-sound reduplication 淅淅沥沥 or 淅沥, describing soft, continuous drizzle. The original 'rinse rice' meaning is now purely literary.

Components

radical
shuǐ
water (left-side radical)
Three-drop water radical, side-form of . It ties the character to water — both the original sense of washing rice and the modern sense of pattering rain.
phonetic
to split; to analyze
Right side supplies the sound xī directly. It contributes no meaning here — the character is built mainly to spell the soft hiss of drizzle.

Stroke Order