疏 (shū) · sparse; thin; scattered

Meanings

1 sparse; thin; scattered
2 distant; not close (in relationship)
3 to neglect; negligent
4 to dredge; to clear away obstruction

Characters

疏

shū

sparse; distant; to dredge

Examples

HSK 3

我们的关系越来越疏了。

Wǒmen de guānxi yuèláiyuè shū le.

Our relationship has become increasingly distant.

HSK 6

这一带树木比较疏。

Zhè yídài shùmù bǐjiào shū.

The trees are relatively sparse around here.

HSK 6

他疏于管理，公司出了问题。

Tā shūyú guǎnlǐ, gōngsī chū le wèntí.

He was negligent in management, and the company ran into problems.

Tips

usage

疏 often pairs with 密 (dense) as opposites. Common compounds: 疏远 (to become distant), 疏忽 (to neglect), 疏散 (to evacuate).

history

Originally meant 'to dredge a waterway' - the idea of clearing channels extended metaphorically to sparse, loose, and distant.

Components

radical

疋 shū

foot; bolt of cloth (Kangxi #103)

Left 疋 - pictograph of a foot below the ankle, the indexing radical. Reads shū in this context (the reading 疋 gives 疏 and the parallel 楚). The 'walking foot' sense reinforces clearing or making passable: feet pacing out a thin path through what was once dense.

phonetic

㐬 liú

flowing infant; loose strands (phonetic)

Right 㐬 supplies the sound - the same phonetic behind 流 (flow) and 硫 (sulfur). Originally pictured an inverted child with hair flowing, an image of loose, dispersed strands - a memory hook for 疏's 'sparse, scattered, thinned-out' core. Sound drifts liú to shū via old l/sh alternation.