泻

瀉
xiè
verb HSK 7-9 #21,804

Meanings

  1. 1 to flow out swiftly
  2. 2 to pour
  3. 3 to have diarrhea

Examples

HSK 7-9
Pùbù cóng shān shàng qīngxiè ér xià.
The waterfall pours down from the mountain.
HSK 7-9
Tā chī huài le dùzi, yìzhí zài fùxiè.
He ate something bad and has been having diarrhea.

Tips

usage
In literary contexts, 泻 describes water cascading or moonlight pouring down. In medical contexts, it means diarrhea (腹泻 fùxiè).

Components

radical
氵 shuǐ
water
Water on the left captures the meaning literally: liquid pouring out fast. Whether of rivers, rain or - bluntly - diarrhoea, the action is a sudden outflow of fluid, putting 泻 with 流, 漏 and 灌 in the spillage family.
phonetic
写 xiě
to write
Carries the sound, with a small tonal shift from xiě to xiè. After PRC simplification the right side reduced from traditional 寫 to 写, but the phonetic role stays intact. The write meaning is unrelated to outpouring.

Stroke Order

泻 xiè