飘浮 (piāo fú) — to float or hover (in the air or on water) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Stresses something lightly suspended in the air (smoke, a balloon, thoughts), with a sense of gentle, aimless movement. 漂浮 is more general (air or water) and more often suggests drifting on water or being ungrounded in meaning.

verb

to float or hover (in the air or on water)

Easily confused

漂浮piāo fúsound-aliketo float, to drift (on water or in air)

Examples

飘浮。
Qì qiú zài tiān kōng zhōng piāo fú.
The balloon floats in the sky.
飘浮。
Xiǎo chuán zài shuǐ miàn shàng piāo fú.
The small boat floats on the water surface.
飘浮。
Tā gǎn dào sī xù piāo fú bú dìng.
He felt his thoughts hovering unsettled.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

飘 and 浮 both mean to float, together describing hovering or floating.

Characters in this word

Most 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 飄; 飘 is its simplified writing.

票風飄

Meaning part形符xíngfú

風風fēngwind

Sound part声符shēngfú

票

票piào飄piāo

Same sound today

The traditional form 飄 uses 票 for the sound and 風 for wind; the simplified 飘 is a shorthand.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐriver

Sound part声符shēngfú

孚

孚fú浮fú

Same sound today

浮 pairs 水 (river) with 孚, which gives the sound; the river part points to its meaning of floating.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Physics & Chemistry

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