流水 (liú shuǐ) literally combines 流 (liú, 'to flow') and 水 (shuǐ, 'water'), so its core meaning is 'flowing water'—think of rivers, streams, or any natural moving water. It evokes imagery of continuous, unobstructed movement and is often used poetically or descriptively in contexts like landscapes, classical poetry, or environmental discussions.

In modern business contexts, 流水 has a specialized secondary meaning: 'turnover'—referring to the total volume of money passing through a business (e.g., daily sales revenue). This usage borrows the idea of constant flow, applying it metaphorically to cash or transactions. While both meanings share the root concept of continuity, the business sense appears almost exclusively in financial or commercial speech and writing—not in everyday conversation about nature.