浏 liú to browse
to browse; bright
How to remember 浏: 氵 water + 文 culture + 刂 knife = to browse. Sitting by the water with a book on culture and a knife for her apple, the student is happy just to browse the pages.
Component breakdown
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
浏 = 汶 Wen River + 刂 knife
- 汶 Wen River
- 氵 water
- 文 culture
- 刂 knife
Sitting by the water with a book on culture and a knife for her apple, the student is happy just to browse the pages.
How it came to be
In the full form, the water gives the meaning and the right part gives the sound.
How it is used
- Almost entirely bound to one word family: 浏览 liúlǎn, to skim or browse (a text, a website), and 浏览器 liúlǎnqì, "browser" (the software).
- 浏览 implies a quick, non-thorough read, glancing over headlines or scrolling a page, as opposed to 阅读 yuèdú (to read carefully/in full).
- Outside 浏览-based words this character essentially never appears alone in modern usage.