游

遊
yóu
#694 most
frequent character
swim, wander, travel, tour
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

游 first meant 'to travel by water'. 氵 water is the picture part, and 斿 yóu supplies the sound. The sense grew to 'travel', 'amuse oneself', 'move around', 'swim', and 'flow, float'.

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Example Sentences

我喜欢在夏天游泳。
wǒ xǐhuān zài xiàtiān yóuyǒng 。
I like to swim in the summer.
他们决定去海边游玩。
tāmen juédìng qù hǎibiān yóuwán 。
They decided to travel to the seaside for fun.
我们可以在公园里游荡。
wǒmen kěyǐ zài gōngyuán lǐ yóudàng 。
We can wander around in the park.

Same Characters, Different Readings

游You2
surname You
游yóu
swim, wander, travel, tour

Words with similar meanings

游泳yóuyǒng
to swim
Specifically refers to the action of swimming, which is one of the meanings of '游'.
游历yóulì
to travel
Focuses on the experience of traveling, often with a sense of adventure or exploration.
漫游mànyóu
to wander
Conveys a more leisurely or aimless form of wandering compared to '游'.

Homophones

HSK 4
由yóu
to follow, from, it is for...to
油yóu
oil, fat, grease
邮yóu
post (office), mail
尤yóu
outstanding, particularly, especially
犹yóu
as if, (just) like, just as, still

Words Starting With 游

游泳yóu yǒng
swim
游戏yóu xì
game; play
游览yóu lǎn
to go sight-seeing; to tour; to visit

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