Definitions

guō name of a river
eddy; whirlpool

Etymology

A mouth  made of water 

About

The character (traditional form ) is composed of the water radical "" and the character "" (simplified from ""), which represents a "mouth". Together, they depict the mouth of a whirlpool formed by water, a rapidly swirling current. Its original meaning refers to a whirlpool or eddy in rivers or oceans. Later, its meaning was extended to broadly refer to various spiral or vortex-shaped phenomena, such as swirling air currents in the atmosphere, and even the spiral structure within the human cochlea.

Example Sentences Hide

河里有个大漩

Hé lǐ yǒu gè dà xuánwō.

There is a big whirlpool in the river.

船要避开那个漩

Chuán yào bìkāi nàge xuánwō.

The boat must avoid that whirlpool.

她笑起来有酒

Tā xiào qǐlái yǒu jiǔwō.

She has dimples when she smiles.

流会产生热量。

Wōliú huì chǎnshēng rèliàng.

Eddy currents generate heat.

的水流很危险。

Xuánwō de shuǐliú hěn wēixiǎn.

The current of the whirlpool is very dangerous.

他被卷入政治的漩

Tā bèi juǎnrù zhèngzhì de xuánwō.

He was drawn into the whirlpool of politics.

工程师设计了扇发动机。

Gōngchéngshī shèjì le wōshàn fādòngjī.

The engineer designed a turbofan engine.

在风暴中心,气流形成了巨大的旋。

Zài fēngbào zhōngxīn, qìliú xíngchéng le jùdà de wōxuán.

At the center of the storm, the air flow formed a huge vortex.