风流

風流
fēngliú
adjective HSK 7-9 #8,865

Meanings

  1. 1 talented and romantic
  2. 2 distinguished
  3. 3 dissolute
  4. 4 amorous

Characters

Literally 'wind flowing' - can mean elegant/talented or romantically promiscuous

Examples

HSK 3
Tā niánqīng shí hěn fēngliú.
He was quite dissolute when he was young.
HSK 5
Tā shì gè fēngliú rénwù.
He is a distinguished figure.
HSK 7-9
Shǔ fēngliú rénwù, hái kàn jīnzhāo.
To count the truly great, look to the present day.

Tips

usage
风流 has two distinct meanings depending on context. 风流人物 = distinguished/talented person (positive). 风流 describing a person's lifestyle = promiscuous/dissolute (negative).
culture
The line 数风流人物还看今朝 is from Mao Zedong's famous poem 'Snow' (沁园春·), meaning the truly great heroes are those of the present era.

Stroke Order

fēng
liú