顺 (shùn): smooth; favorable; going well

Meanings

1 smooth; favorable; going well
2 along; in the same direction
3 to obey; to follow

Characters

顺

shùn

smooth; along; favorable

Examples

祝你一切顺利！

Zhù nǐ yíqiè shùnlì!

Wish you all the best!

顺便帮我买杯咖啡。

Shùnbiàn bāng wǒ mǎi bēi kāfēi.

While you're at it, buy me a coffee.

顺着这条路一直走。

Shùnzhe zhè tiáo lù yīzhí zǒu.

Go straight along this road.

Tips

usage

顺 is used in: 顺利 (smooth/successful), 顺便 (conveniently/by the way), 顺序 (order/sequence), 顺风 (tailwind/favorable). 顺便 is very useful in everyday speech.

Components

radical

页 yè

head (radical of head-words)

Right 页 — the indexing radical, originally meaning head. Combined with the flowing-river graph on the left, the head is shown turning along with the natural flow rather than against it. From this came the senses smooth, agreeable, obedient, and lucky (一帆风顺 smooth sailing). Same head family: 顶, 颈, 颜, 须.

semantic

川 chuān

flowing river

Left 川 — three vertical strokes picturing a flowing river. The water always flows downhill in the same direction, never against itself. Combined with the head on the right, 顺 pictures a head bowed in the direction of flow — going with the current, hence smooth, compliant, in order. Same flow family: 训 (instruct), 巡 (patrol).