hóng shuǐ
inondation; déluge
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长江发生了洪水，淹没了许多村庄。
Chángjiāng fāshēngle hóngshuǐ, yǎnmòle xǔduō cūnzhuāng.
The Yangtze River flooded, submerging many villages.
洪水过后，人们开始重建家园。
Hóngshuǐ guòhòu, rénmen kāishǐ chóngjiàn jiāyuán.
After the flood, people began to rebuild their homes.
洪水无情，但人间有爱。
Hóngshuǐ wúqíng, dàn rénjiān yǒu ài.
Floods are ruthless, but there is love in the world.
干旱 (gān hàn)
drought
枯竭 (kū jié)
exhaustion
The Chinese character 洪 (hóng) means "flood" or "inundation". It is composed of two parts: the radical 水 (shuǐ), which means "water", and the phonetic component 工 (gōng), which is pronounced similarly to 洪. The character 水 is a pictograph of water flowing, while the character 工 is a pictograph of a person working with a tool. Together, the two characters 洪水 form a compound word that means "a great flood".The character 洪 is also used in other Chinese words related to water, such as 洪涝 (hóng lào), which means "flood and drought", and 洪波 (hóng bō), which means "a huge wave". The character 工 is also used in other Chinese words related to work, such as 工作 (gōng zuò), which means "work", and 工厂 (gōng chǎng), which means "factory".
