游泳
yóuyǒng · HSK 3
swimming
🏊 游泳 = swim + swim (both characters share the 氵 water radical)
游 means to swim or roam, and 泳 specifically means swimming; together they form the verb/noun for swimming. Both characters carry 氵 (water), so the meaning is doubly anchored to water.
游 — water radical 氵 + 斿 (banner/streamer)
游 combines the water radical 氵 with 斿, which depicts a banner streaming in the wind. The original sense was a flag fluttering or floating, extended to drifting on water, swimming, and wandering. Today it commonly means to swim, travel, or roam.
yóu yǒng · HSK 2
swimming
🏊 游泳 = swim + swim (two near-synonyms for swimming)
游 means to swim or drift, and 泳 also means to swim. Chinese often pairs two related characters to form a clear two-syllable noun or verb; here both halves carry water (氵) and reinforce the swimming meaning.
游 — water radical 氵 + 斿 (banner/streamer)
游 combines the water radical 氵 with 斿, which depicts a banner streaming in the wind. The original sense was a flag fluttering or floating, extended to drifting on water, swimming, and wandering. Today it commonly means to swim, travel, or roam.