泼 (pō) — to splash; to spill (liquid); (colloquial) to be rude, brutish, or coarse (in speech or behavior)
Definition
泼 (pō) means to splash or spill liquid with force — stronger and more sudden than 洒 ('sprinkle/spill' gently). 泼 also describes a rude, brash way of speaking or behaving.
verb
to splashto spill (liquid)(colloquial) to be rudebrutishor coarse (in speech or behavior)
Examples
- ，泼。Tāng tài tàng le, tā yī zháo jí jiù bǎ tāng pō chū qù le.The soup was too hot, so he got anxious and splashed it out.
- 泼，。Nà ge nǚ rén shuō huà hěn pō, dà jiā dōu pà tā.That woman speaks very rudely; everyone is afraid of her.
- 泼Bié wǎng bié rén shēn shàng pō shuǐDon't splash water onto others.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 潑; 泼 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵氵shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
發
發fā潑pō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 潑 uses 氵 for water and 發 to suggest the pronunciation; the simplified 泼 is a later shorthand.
Appears in
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