Meaning of 泼
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to splash
- to spill
- rough and coarse
- brutish
How to use 泼
泼 is a verb for throwing or splashing liquid, usually water, in a sweeping motion. It also appears in common words like 活泼 (huópō, lively) and the idiom 泼冷水 (pō lěngshuǐ, to dampen someone's enthusiasm). Example: 他把一桶水泼在地上。(Tā bǎ yì tǒng shuǐ pō zài dì shang.) He splashed a bucket of water onto the ground.
泼 has the water radical 氵 on the left, so think of water flying out of a bucket. The right side 发 (fā) can remind you that the water is sent out, spreading everywhere when you splash it.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 泼 (pō) with 波 (bō, wave), since both have 氵 on the left. Check the right side: 泼 has 发 and 波 has 皮. Also note that 活泼 is often said with a neutral tone, huópo, in everyday speech.
泼 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
泼 pō · to splash · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 泼.
Questions about 泼
What does 泼 mean?
泼 (pō) means "to splash; to spill" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 泼?
泼 is made of 1 character: 泼 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 泼 an HSK word?
Yes. 泼 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 泼 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 泼 is written 潑.
What is the difference between 泼 and 洒 (sǎ)?
泼 means throwing out a lot of liquid at once with force, like tossing a bucket of water. 洒 means sprinkling or spilling smaller amounts that scatter, like watering plants or spilling a little tea.
Does 泼 have a negative meaning when used about people?
It can. 泼妇 (pōfù) is an insulting word for a loud, aggressive woman, a shrew. But in 活泼 (huópō) the meaning is positive, describing a lively, energetic person, often a child.