流域
liú yù · HSK 7
river basin
🏞️ 流 flow + 域 region = the land a river flows through
流 means flow or stream and 域 means region or zone. Stack them and you get the whole region a river's water flows across: its basin or drainage area.
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'.