Definition
漂泊 (piāobó) emphasizes a drifting, unsettled life, often with a sense of hardship or rootlessness, like a boat adrift. It is more poetic and emotionally weighted than 流浪 (liúlàng), which simply implies homelessness or roaming. Unlike 漂 (piāo) or 漂流 (piāoliú), which focus on physical floating, 漂泊 is almost always used figuratively for a wandering existence.
verb
to drift (of a boat)to float(figurative) to wanderto lead a wandering existence
Examples
- 漂泊。Nà sōu xiǎo chuán zài hǎishàng piāo bó le hěn jiǔ.That small boat drifted at sea for a long time.
- ,漂泊。Tā cóngxiǎo jiù líkāi jiāxiāng, zài wài piāo bó le jǐ shí nián.He left his hometown as a child and wandered outside for decades.
- 漂泊?Nǐ yuànyì piāo bó yí bèizi ma?Are you willing to wander your whole life?
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