琉 (liú): precious stone; colored glaze

Meanings

1 precious stone; colored glaze

Characters

琉

liú

precious stone; colored glaze

Examples

故宫的琉璃瓦在阳光下闪闪发光。

Gùgōng de liú lí wǎ zài yángguāng xià shǎnshǎn fāguāng.

The glazed tiles of the Forbidden City sparkle in the sunlight.

琉球群岛位于日本南部。

Liú Qiú Qúndǎo wèiyú Rìběn nánbù.

The Ryukyu Islands are located in southern Japan.

Tips

history

琉球 (Liúqiú, Ryukyu) was an independent kingdom that paid tribute to both China and Japan for centuries before Japan annexed it in 1879 as Okinawa Prefecture. The name literally means 'precious stone ball'.

Components

radical

王 wáng

jade (radical form of 玉)

Left jade radical - the four-stroke side-form of 玉, written without the dot. Indexes 琉 in the precious-stone family with 玛 (agate), 珍 pearl, 玻 glass. Anchors the meaning: 琉璃 originally named a translucent gem-like glaze, prized for its resemblance to colored jade.

phonetic

㐬 liú

flow (older variant of 流)

Right 㐬 - an archaic shape related to 流 (to flow), supplying the sound liú directly with no drift. Same phonetic core appears in 流 to flow and 硫 sulfur. Carries a faint flavor of fluid, molten color - appropriate for a glaze that pours and sets in shimmering streaks.