About
The character 洌 is composed of the water radical 氵 on the left, which grounds its meaning in the realm of liquids and aqueous states, and the component 列 (liè) on the right. While 列 usually means 'to arrange' or 'to line up,' in this structure it functions solely as a phonetic indicator. The character denotes water that is exceptionally cold and crystal-clear; it appears primarily in literary and poetic texts to describe pristine springs, icy streams, and bracingly cold, clear liquids.
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