HSK 6 · Adjectives

一流 yìliú “first-class” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 一流 means

  1. first-class
  2. top-notch
  3. top quality
  4. front ranking

How to say 一流

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale一yì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale流liú2nd tone, rising

Tone change. 一 is yī on its own. Before a fourth tone it becomes yí, and before the other tones yì. Textbooks write the change in, as here. How tone changes work

一流 in a sentence

  1. 我们没机会赢那些一流选手。

    Wǒmen méi jīhuì yíng nàxiē yìliú xuǎnshǒu.

    We have no chance of beating those top-class players.

    Sentence #332444 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 新鲜出炉的蛋挞味道一流。

    Xīnxiān chūlú de dàntà wèidao yìliú.

    Freshly baked egg tarts taste first-rate.

    Sentence #1326634 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 他们这里提供一流的美食。

    Tāmen zhèlǐ tígōng yìliú de měishí.

    They serve first-class food here.

    Sentence #836148 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 一流 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 一 (yī) drawn as one shape
一yīoneyì in 一流

一 is a single shape of 1 stroke. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidOne stroke for one, the way people once counted with rods.

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.

How to write 一流

一 1 strokes · 流 10 strokes

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

一流 (yìliú) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 一流 (yìliú). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 一流

Words with 一

一yī · one一半yībàn · half一些yīxiē · some一点儿yìdiǎnr · a little一起yìqǐ · together第一dìyī · first一下yíxià · (after a verb) briefly一般yìbān · general一定yídìng · surely一共yígòng · altogether

Words with 流

交流jiāoliú · to exchange流利liúlì · fluent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流通liútōng · to circulate潮流cháoliú · trend

More words: Adjectives

鸦雀无声yāquèwúshēng · silence reigns野蛮yěmán · barbaric异常yìcháng · abnormal一贯yíguàn · consistent一目了然yímùliǎorán · clear at a glance隐蔽yǐnbì · hidden英明yīngmíng · wise英勇yīngyǒng · heroic

FAQs

一流 (yìliú) means “first-class” or “top-notch”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it yìliú: yì with a 4th tone, then liú with a 2nd tone. 一 is yī on its own. Before a fourth tone it becomes yí, and before the other tones yì. Textbooks write the change in, as here. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 一流 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yiliu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 一流 from the suggestions. Typing yiliu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
一流 is an HSK 6 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.