Meaning of 活泼
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- lively
- vivacious
- brisk
- active
- (chemistry) reactive
How to use 活泼
活泼 describes people, especially children and young people, as well as writing styles or atmospheres that feel full of energy. In chemistry it means an element reacts easily. Example: 这个孩子很活泼。(Zhège háizi hěn huópo.) This child is very lively.
Both 活 (huó, alive) and 泼 (pō, to splash) have the water radical 氵, so picture a living stream splashing around. Something that is alive and splashing is lively.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 活泼 with 活跃 (huóyuè). 活泼 describes someone's natural lively personality, while 活跃 means active in an activity or setting, as in 他在课上很活跃 (he is active in class). Also note that 泼 is often said in the neutral tone in everyday speech: huópo.
活泼 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.
活 huó · to live · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
泼 pō · to splash · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
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- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 活泼.
| 生活 | shēnghuó | to live; life |
| 活动 | huódòng | to exercise; to move about; to work out; shaky; unsteady; loose (tooth etc) |
| 干活儿 | gànhuór | erhua variant of 幹活|干活[gan4 huo2] |
| 活力 | huólì | energy; vitality |
| 快活 | kuàihuo | happy; cheerful |
| 活跃 | huóyuè | active; lively |
| 灵活 | línghuó | flexible; nimble |
| 生活费 | shēnghuófèi | cost of living; living expenses |
| 复活 | fùhuó | to revive; (lit. and fig.) to come back to life |
| 活该 | huógāi | (coll.) serve sb right; deservedly |
| 活儿 | huór | work; (lots of) things to do |
| 养活 | yǎnghuo | to provide for; to keep (animals, a family etc) |
Questions about 活泼
What does 活泼 mean?
活泼 (huópō) means "lively; vivacious" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 活泼?
活泼 is made of 2 characters: 活 (9 strokes), 泼 (8 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 活泼 an HSK word?
Yes. 活泼 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 活泼 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 活泼 is written 活潑.
Can 活泼 be used for adults, or only for kids?
It is most common for children, young women, and pets, but it can describe any cheerful, energetic adult. For a lively scene or discussion, 活跃 often sounds more natural.
What does 泼 mean on its own?
On its own 泼 (pō) means to splash or throw liquid, as in 泼水 (pōshuǐ, to splash water). It can also mean shrewish, as in 泼妇 (pōfù).