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

我们的关系越来越疏了。

Wǒmen de guānxì yuèláiyuè shū le.

Our relationship has become increasingly distant.

这一带树木比较疏。

Zhè yīdài shùmù bǐjiào shū.

The trees are relatively sparse around here.

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 (mì, dense) as opposites. Common compounds: 疏远 (shūyuǎn, to become distant), 疏忽 (shūhū, to neglect), 疏散 (shūsàn, 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 (here 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 → shū via old l/sh alternation.