刘
Liú
刘 (Liú) is the Chinese surname Liu.
In informal social contexts, you can add the prefix 小 to the surname to create 小刘 (Xiǎo Liú), which is used to convey familiarity or intimacy with the person.
Meaning: surname 劉 / 刘 (name)
How do you pronounce it?
Liú
Did you know?
- Because the name is so widespread, many families use a 'generation poem' to distinguish themselves, where every person of the same generation in the 'Liu' family shares one specific character in their name.
- In ancient China, people with the surname 刘 were sometimes granted special privileges or avoided certain punishments because of their kinship to the ruling house.
- In traditional Chinese calligraphy, the complex character 劉 is often used instead of the simplified 刘 to convey a sense of antiquity or formality.
Examples in context
- 刘晓波是中国人。Liu Xiaobo is Chinese.This sentence is useful for identifying a person named 刘.Tatoeba #826734 by U2FS, translation #826728 by CN
- 刘备和诸葛亮是一支无法战胜的队伍。Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang are an unbeatable team.This sentence is useful for mentioning two historical figures, one of whom is 刘.Tatoeba #421511 by FeuDRenais, translation #421510 by FeuDRenais
- 中国社会科学院信息化研究中心副主任刘满强说:“信息传递能够带来巨大的附加值，中国信息发展的一个重要目标是让更多的农民从信息业发展中受益。”Liu Manqiang, deputy director of the Chinese Research Centre and College for Social Sciences and Information Technology, says "Information and communication technology has the potential for a huge increase in value, an important goal for the development of China's information technology is allowing more rural citizens to benefit from the information technology industry."This sentence is useful for quoting a statement made by an official named 刘.Tatoeba #767807 by eastasiastudent, translation #767810 by eastasiastudent
- 我朋友中有个叫小刘的，他非常聪明。 (Wǒ péngyǒu zhōng yǒu ge jiào Xiǎo Liú de, tā fēicháng cōngmíng.)Among my friends, there's someone called Xiao Liu, and he is very smart.
Example conversation
Wei and Zihan are meeting at a coffee shop.
- 伟 Wei你是刘女士吗？Nǐ shì Liú nǚshì ma?Are you Ms. Liu?
- 梓涵 Zihan是的，我是。Shì de, wǒ shì.Yes, I am.
- 伟 Wei很高兴认识你，刘女士。Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ, Liú nǚshì.Nice to meet you, Ms. Liu.
- 梓涵 Zihan我也很高兴认识你。Wǒ yě hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.Nice to meet you too.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
