HSK 4 · Adjectives

流利 liúlì “fluent” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 流利 means

  1. fluent

How to say 流利

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale流liú2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale利lì4th tone, falling

流利 in a sentence

  1. 你英语说得很流利。

    Nǐ Yīngyǔ shuō de hěn liúlì.

    You speak English very fluently.

    Sentence #517568 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 你会说流利的中文吗？

    Nǐ huì shuō liúlì de Zhōngwén ma?

    Can you speak fluent Chinese?

    Sentence #786123 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 我想讲一口流利的英语。

    Wǒ xiǎng jiǎng yì kǒu liúlì de Yīngyǔ.

    I’d like to speak fluent English.

    Sentence #894419 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 流利 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 流 (liú) with each of its parts in a different colour
流liúto flow
  • 氵water form of 水 · shuǐMeaning part
  • 㐬pennantSound part

氵 hints at the meaning (water); 㐬 () hints at the sound. Compare it with liú.

The character 利 (lì) with each of its parts in a different colour
利lìsharp
  • 禾grain · hé
  • 刂knife form of 刀 · dāo

How to write 流利

流 10 strokes · 利 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

流利 (liúlì) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 流利 (liúlì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 流利

Words with 流

交流jiāoliú · to exchange流行liúxíng · popular流泪liúlèi · to shed tears流传liúchuán · to spread轮流lúnliú · to alternate流露liúlù · to reveal流浪liúlàng · to wander一流yìliú · first-class流通liútōng · to circulate潮流cháoliú · trend

Words with 利

顺利shùnlì · smoothly胜利shènglì · victory利用lìyòng · to make use of有利yǒulì · advantageous利益lìyì · benefit利润lìrùn · profits利息lìxī · interest (on a loan)权利quánlì · right (an entitlement)便利biànlì · convenient锋利fēnglì · sharp (blade)

More words: Adjectives

冷静lěngjìng · calm礼貌lǐmào · courtesy厉害lìhai · impressive凉快liángkuai · nice and cold流行liúxíng · popular乱luàn · in confusion or disorder马虎mǎhu · careless满mǎn · to fill

FAQs

流利 (liúlì) means “fluent”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it liúlì: liú with a 2nd tone, then lì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 流利 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type liuli with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 流利 from the suggestions. Typing liuli into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
流利 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.