流汗 (liú hàn) literally means 'to flow sweat' — combining 流 (liú), meaning 'to flow' or 'to stream', and 汗 (hàn), meaning 'sweat'. Unlike the more neutral word 出汗 (chū hàn), which simply means 'to sweat', 流汗 emphasizes the visible, active movement of sweat — often dripping, trickling, or streaming down the skin. It’s commonly used to describe sweating during physical exertion, high temperatures, or emotional stress like nervousness or anxiety.

This verb is frequently found in descriptive writing and everyday speech when highlighting intensity or volume: for example, someone might 流汗 heavily after running, or 流汗 nervously before a presentation. It can be used both transitively (e.g., 流汗太多) and intransitively (e.g., 他一直在流汗). While it’s not formal or literary per se, it’s more vivid and concrete than 出汗, making it especially common in spoken Chinese and narrative contexts.