流
liú · HSK 2
circulate
🌊 水 (water) + 㐬 = water flowing → spread, circulate
The right side 㐬 depicts a child being born head-down with amniotic fluid — the original sense was 'flow downward like water.' Extended to anything that circulates: rivers, rumors, currents, trends.
流 — water radical 氵 + 㐬 (phonetic, child being born)
流 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The water radical 氵 gives the meaning, while 㐬 depicts an infant being born head-down with amniotic fluid, suggesting downward flow. Together they convey water flowing, and by extension 'to flow' or 'current'.