漂

piāo, piǎo, piào

氵 + 票

HSK 3.0Level 6

Definitions

piāo (verb) to float; to drift

piǎo (verb) to bleach

piào (adjective) elegant; beautiful

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 票 represents the sound.

Semantic: 氵 Phonetic: 票

About

The character 漂 combines the semantic radical 氵 (water) with the phonetic component 票. Its core meaning relates to objects floating on a liquid's surface or being carried by currents. With different pronunciations, it also denotes processes like bleaching through washing, and metaphorically describes an attractive or elegant appearance, extending the notion of visual lightness.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

她今天很漂亮。

Tā jīntiān hěn piàoliang.

She is very beautiful today.

树叶漂浮在水上。

Shùyè piāofú zài shuǐ shàng.

Leaves float on the water.

小船在河中漂流。

Xiǎo chuán zài hé zhōng piāoliú.

The small boat drifts in the river.

他一生都在漂泊。

Tā yīshēng dōu zài piāobó.

He has been wandering all his life.

这件衣服需要漂白。

Zhè jiàn yīfu xūyào piǎobái.

This piece of clothing needs bleaching.

漂流瓶里有一封信。

Piāoliú píng lǐ yǒu yī fēng xìn.

There is a letter in the drift bottle.

漂浮的云朵像棉花糖。

Piāofú de yúnduǒ xiàng miánhuātáng.

The floating clouds look like cotton candy.

漂泊异乡的他常常思念家乡。

Piāobó yìxiāng de tā chángcháng sīniàn jiāxiāng.

He, who wanders in a foreign land, often misses his hometown.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 氵

Component: 票

漂