Shui

Shui is the pinyin spelling of the Chinese character 水, which means water. In Mandarin, it is pronounced shuǐ and serves as a fundamental noun used in everyday language as well as in many idioms and terms.

In Chinese philosophy, water is one of the five elements (wǔ xíng) that also include wood, fire, earth, and metal. Water is associated with fluidity, adaptability, and nourishment, and its symbolic meanings appear across literature, art, and traditional thought.

Feng shui, literally wind-water, is a traditional practice that aims to harmonize people with their surroundings. Water features, such as ponds, streams, or fountains, and the strategic placement of objects are considered to influence the flow of qi, or life energy, and overall harmony in a space.

Other uses of the term include its role as a transliteration for Chinese surnames that use the character 水. It is also the name of the Shui people (水族), an officially recognized ethnic minority in China, primarily living in Guangxi and neighboring provinces. The Shui language is generally classified as part of the Kam–Sui subgroup of the Kam–Tai (Kra-Dai) language family, reflecting regional linguistic diversity.