A river seen from above: one winding current in the middle, drops and eddies splashing along both banks. Whenever 水 slides into the left side of another character it compresses into three small drops (氵) — and suddenly you can spot "liquid" hiding inside hundreds of characters, from rivers to soup to tears.
A piece of culture
Water as wisdom Laozi built a whole philosophy on water: "Nothing in the world is softer than water, yet nothing is better at overcoming the hard." The Yellow River (黄河) is called the cradle of Chinese civilization — and its floods shaped dynasties. Controlling water was so central that the legendary first dynasty, the Xia, begins with Yu the Great taming a flood.
Use it in a real word
水果
shuǐguǒ · seoi2 gwo2
fruit — literally "water fruit", juicy things from trees