Definitions

lòu (verb) to leak; to drip
lòu (verb) to divulge; to reveal
lòu (verb) to leave out; to miss

Etymology

Originally written as , which depicts rainwater () leaking through a house roof (). The (water) component was added later to clarify the meaning.

About

originally depicted rain () leaking through a roof () as the character . Later, the water radical was added on the left to reinforce the meaning of liquid seepage. The modern character thus combines (water) with (lòu), which serves as both the phonetic and a semantic hint, a leaking roof. Its primary sense is liquid dripping or escaping through a crack or hole, and by extension it describes any breach of containment, whether omitting a detail, revealing a secret, or leaving something out.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我的屋顶水了。

Wǒ de wūdǐng lòu shuǐ le.

My roof is leaking.

水管了很多水。

Shuǐguǎn lòu le hěn duō shuǐ.

The water pipe leaked a lot of water.

掉重要信息。

Bié lòu diào zhòngyào xìnxī.

Don't omit important information.

名单上遗了他的名字。

Míngdān shàng yílòu le tā de míngzì.

His name was omitted from the list.

他说话时不小心了底。

Tā shuōhuà shí bù xiǎoxīn lòu le dǐ.

He accidentally revealed the secret while speaking.

检查系统是否有洞。

Jiǎnchá xìtǒng shìfǒu yǒu lòudòng.

Check if the system has any loopholes.

雨水从窗户的缝隙进来。

Yǔshuǐ cóng chuānghu de fèngxì lòu jìnlái.

Rainwater is leaking in through the gaps in the window.

报告不能遗任何关键数据。

Bàogào bù néng yílòu rènhé guānjiàn shùjù.

The report must not omit any key data.