泡

pào
#1,997 most
frequent character
bubble, steep, soak
noun
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

泡 pào uses 氵 water as the meaning part and 包 bāo for sound. It first meant an old river name. It grew to mean to soak, bubble, blister, and to dawdle. Read pāo, it means puffy or spongy.

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Example Sentences

水里有很多泡。
shuǐlǐ yǒu hěnduō pào 。
There are many bubbles in the water.
我喜欢泡茶。
wǒ xǐhuān pàochá 。
I like to steep tea.
请将衣服泡在水里半小时。
qǐngjiāng yīfú pào zài shuǐlǐ bàn xiǎoshí 。
Please soak the clothes in water for half an hour.

Same Characters, Different Readings

泡pāo
puffed, swollen, spongy

Words with similar meanings

泡沫pàomò
foam
泡沫 refers to a form of bubble created mainly from liquid, usually larger and more stable than 泡.
浸泡jìnpào
soak
浸泡 specifically implies the act of submerging something in a liquid for absorption, closely related to 泡 as a verb.

Homophones

炮pào
cannon, firecracker

Words Starting With 泡

泡沫pào mò
foam; (soap) bubble; (economic) bubble

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