氵
sān diǎn shuǐ
Washing and sweating share the same three drops
The picture Three drops of water running down the left side of the character. 氵 is water running down and soaking, 火 is fire leaping up and drying.
Where the picture shows up in 氵
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water that runs
过了前面那条河就到了。
guò le qiánmiàn nà tiáo hé jiù dào le
Cross that river up ahead and we're there.
One long band of water bending through open fields in front of you
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water over the hands
吃饭前请先洗手。
chī fàn qián qǐng xiān xǐ shǒu
Please wash your hands before you eat.
Water from the tap carrying the dirt off the back of a hand
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water held in a bowl
这碗汤还很烫。
zhè wǎn tāng hái hěn tàng
This soup is still too hot.
A bowl of liquid rocking and steaming under your chin
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water pushed out of the body
他跑完一身都是汗。
tā pǎo wán yì shēn dōu shì hàn
He finished his run soaked in sweat.
Beads running down from the forehead along the side of the neck
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water with no far side
夏天我们常去海边。
xiàtiān wǒmen cháng qù hǎibiān
In summer we often go to the seaside.
Water spread out to the sky, waves wetting your ankles
All of it in one picture
氵 is one stream of water running alongside a character. Cutting through a field it becomes a river; falling on your hands it becomes washing. Held in a bowl it becomes soup, pushed out through the skin it becomes sweat, spread to the horizon it becomes the sea. Three drops, and there is water somewhere inside that character.