Definition
支流 (zhī liú) is a tributary — a smaller river or stream that flows into a larger one (主干流). It contrasts with 河流 (hé liú, any river) and 水流 (shuǐ liú, the flow/current itself). 流派 (liú pài) shares the same hanzi but is an unrelated sense: a school of thought, not a river branch.
noun
tributary (of a river)
Easily confused
- 滞留zhì liúsound-alike(of a person) to be stranded / to be stuck (somewhere)
Examples
- 支流。Huáng Hé de zhī liú zhǔyào láizì xīběi dìqū.The tributaries of the Yellow River mainly come from the northwest region.
- 支流。Zhè zhāng dìtú shàng biāo chū le suǒyǒu zhǔyào de zhī liú.This map marks all the major tributaries.
- 支流。zhī liú de shuǐliàng shòu jìjié yǐngxiǎng hěn dà.The water volume of tributaries is greatly affected by the seasons.
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