流れ
ながれ · nagare · JLPT N3 · noun
stream
🏞️🌊 nagare sounds like Niagara, which has one of the world's strongest currents
流れ is the noun form of the verb 流れる (nagareru, to flow), and the kanji 流 means flow. The same kanji appears in 電流 (denryū, electric current) and 一流 (ichiryū, first-rate). Niagara and nagare share the sounds n-g-r.
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'.