泡 (pào) — (noun) bubble, foam, blister; (verb) to soak, to steep, to infuse; (verb) to dawdle, to loiter; (slang) to pick up (someone)
Definition
泡 (pào) is both the noun 'bubble/foam' and the verb 'to soak/steep' — for tea, use 泡 or 冲; for clothes or food soaking longer, 浸泡. Colloquially, '泡酒吧' means to hang out.
noun
bubblefoamblister
verb
to soakto steepto infuseto dawdleto loiter(slang) to pick up (someone)
Measure word · 个
Examples
- 泡。Tā jiǎo shàng mó chū le yí gè pào.He got a blister on his foot from rubbing.
- 泡泡。Bǎ yī fu fàng zài shuǐ lǐ pào yi pào.Soak the clothes in water for a while.
- 泡。Tā zuó tiān zài jiǔ bā pào dào yí gè nǚ shēng.He picked up a girl at the bar yesterday.
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.
泡 combines 氵 (water) and 包, which supplies the sound. It conveys foam.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.