泡 meaning and stroke order
Bubble; foam; blister; to soak; to steep; to infuse
How to write 泡, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 8
Meaning of 泡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- bubble; foam
- blister
- to soak; to steep; to infuse
- to dawdle; to loiter
- to pick up (a girl)
- to get off with (a sexual partner)
- puffed; swollen; spongy
- small lake (esp. in place names)
- classifier for urine or feces
How 泡 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 包 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 泡
Water 氵 wrapped up 包 (bāo) in a little package makes a bubble. The 包 part also gives the sound, so think of bāo turning into pào.
泡 is very common as a verb meaning to soak or steep, especially for tea and instant noodles, and as a noun in words like 泡沫 (pàomò, foam) and 灯泡 (dēngpào, light bulb). Example: 我去泡一杯茶。(Wǒ qù pào yì bēi chá.) I'm going to make a cup of tea.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 泡 with 抱 (bào, to hug) and 饱 (bǎo, full), which share the 包 part. Check the left side: water 氵 for 泡, hand 扌 for 抱, food 饣 for 饱.
Common words with 泡
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 泡沫 | pàomò | foam; (soap) bubble | HSK 7-9 |
| 灯泡 | dēngpào | light bulb; see also 電燈泡|电灯泡[dian4 deng1 pao4] | HSK 7-9 |
| 气泡 | qìpào | bubble; blister (in metal) | HSK 7-9 |
| 浸泡 | jìnpào | to steep; to soak | HSK 7-9 |
| 泡妞 | pàoniū | to pick up girls; to play around with girls | |
| 泡菜 | pàocài | pickled cabbage | |
| 泡泡 | pàopao | bubbles | |
| 泡汤 | pàotāng | (coll.) to fizzle out; to come to nothing; to dawdle; to stall | |
| 泡茶 | pàochá | to make tea | |
| 泡澡 | pàozǎo | to bathe; to immerse oneself in a warm bath | |
| 水泡 | shuǐpào | bubble; blister | |
| 电灯泡 | diàndēngpào | light bulb; (slang) unwanted third guest | |
| 泡泡糖 | pàopàotáng | bubble gum |
泡 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 泡
How many strokes are in 泡?
泡 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 泡 mean?
泡 (pào) means bubble; foam; blister; to soak; to steep; to infuse. A common word with it is 泡沫 (pàomò), meaning "foam; (soap) bubble".
How do you pronounce 泡?
泡 is pronounced pào, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 泡?
The radical of 泡 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 泡 under this radical.
Is 泡 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 泡 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 泡汤 (pàotāng) mean?
It is a casual expression meaning a plan fell through or came to nothing. For example, 计划泡汤了 (jìhuà pàotāng le) means the plan fell apart.
When is 泡 read as pāo instead of pào?
The first tone pāo is used for the sense of puffed up or spongy, for a small lake in some place names, and as a classifier for urine or feces. In everyday words like 泡茶 and 泡沫, it is pào.