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HSK 4

交流

to exchange; communication

verbneutral
交
jiāo1st tone
流
liú2nd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
jiāoliú
Part of speech
verb
Level
HSK 4
Strokes
16
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 交流

交流 is written with 16 strokes (交: 6, 流: 10). The animation replays automatically.

What does 交流 mean?

交流 (jiāoliú) is a verb and noun meaning 'to exchange / communicate' — a two-way flow of ideas, information, experience, or culture between people or groups.

Literally 'hand-over flow,' it pictures things moving back and forth. As a verb it takes no object as easily as English 'communicate' does: 我们交流一下 ('let's exchange thoughts'), or with an explicit topic, 交流经验 ('exchange experience'). English speakers should note it is mutual by default — 交流 implies both sides give and receive, unlike one-directional 'to tell.'

It also skews toward substantive exchange (ideas, culture, academic work), not idle chatter, for which 聊天 (liáotiān 'to chat') fits better. Common in formal and semi-formal contexts: 文化交流 ('cultural exchange'), 交流经验 ('share experience'), 学术交流 ('academic exchange').

Character by character

交jiāoto hand over; to cross
+
流liúto flow; stream
=
交流

Memory hook: Ideas 'cross and flow' (交 cross + 流 flow) between two people — that's communication.

Example sentences

我们经常在网上交流。

Wǒmen jīngcháng zài wǎngshàng jiāoliú.

We often communicate online.

spoken

这次会议是为了交流经验。

Zhè cì huìyì shì wèile jiāoliú jīngyàn.

This meeting is for exchanging experience.

neutral

两国之间的文化交流越来越多。

Liǎng guó zhījiān de wénhuà jiāoliú yuèláiyuè duō.

Cultural exchange between the two countries is growing.

written

有问题我们可以多交流。

Yǒu wèntí wǒmen kěyǐ duō jiāoliú.

If there are issues, we can communicate more.

spoken

Common phrases with 交流

文化交流wénhuà jiāoliúcultural exchange
交流经验jiāoliú jīngyànto share experience
交流一下jiāoliú yíxiàto exchange thoughts a bit
互相交流hùxiāng jiāoliúto communicate with each other

Synonyms

沟通gōutōng

沟通 emphasizes reaching mutual understanding, often to resolve a gap or problem (与客户沟通 'communicate with clients'). 交流 emphasizes the exchange of content itself (ideas, culture). Use 沟通 when the goal is alignment; 交流 when the goal is sharing.

交换jiāohuàn

交换 is literally 'to swap' concrete or abstract things one-for-one (交换名片 'exchange business cards', 交换意见 'exchange opinions'). 交流 is a broader, ongoing flow rather than a discrete swap.

Don't confuse 交流 with

聊天liáotiān

聊天 is casual chatting for its own sake. 交流 implies substantive, purposeful exchange of ideas or information. Don't use 交流 for gossiping with friends.

流交liújiāo

Not a word — the characters only work in the order 交流. Reversing them produces nonsense.

FAQ

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