泼 (pō) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

泼

pō[po1]Tone 1

to splash, to spill, rough and coarse

HSK 5

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潑

Guru Deep Dive

English · to splash, to spill, rough and coarse

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:8

Writing Balance Rule: The left water radical must be compressed and slightly elevated, while the right component should be broad and sturdy to maintain visual equilibrium.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 潑 and simplified form 泼 share the same radical and phonetic layout; minor adjustments were made to standard script stroke simplifications.

1. Meaning

to splash or to spill liquids

rough and coarsebrutishshrewish (referring to a fierce or ill-tempered person)

Verb / AdjectiveNeutral#actions#liquids#personality traits

Sample Usage

不要把水泼在地上。
bù yào bǎ shuǐ pō zài dì shàng.
Don't splash water on the floor.
泼辣
pō là
Bold and fierce (referring to a spirited person)

2. Sound

/[pʰɔ⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

泼

pōpo1

¯(55)

=pō

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: p sound as in 'pie'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong puff of air! A tissue held before lips MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips pressed together then released with a forceful puff of air; tongue is resting flat at the bottom of the mouth.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: aw sound as in 'paw'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'aw'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 stays flat and high at the top of your vocal range, exactly like singing a single sustained note.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the high level tone (Tone 1) with Tone 4 when spoken quickly in rapid native dialogue.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Keep your hand flat and steady at eye level, like drawing a straight horizon line from left to right.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 8 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left water radical must be compressed and slightly elevated, while the right component should be broad and sturdy to maintain visual equilibrium.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 潑 and simplified form 泼 share the same radical and phonetic layout; minor adjustments were made to standard script stroke simplifications.

4. Components

Radical 氵 · Water Radical (water or liquid)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 氵 (Indicates that the action involves liquid, splashing, or water.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 发 (original sound: fā / pō phonetic sound bearer)

Water (氵) combined with the sound-bearing element (发) creates the action of liquid being sent flying outward.

氵 Water semantic indicator
发 Phonetic component

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the water signifier on the left and a phonetic component on the right to represent the forcible ejection or splashing of liquid.

Semantic Evolution: Originally denoting the physical act of throwing or splashing water, it extended to describe fiery, untamed human temperaments (such as being bold, fierce, or shrewish).

Often appears in historical novels describing characters who throw caution to the wind or act aggressively.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ハツ (Hatsu) / Kun: そそ.ぐ (sosogu)

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine throwing water (氵) with hair (发) flying everywhere as you splash it across the room in a wild, bold manner.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

泼

pōto splashBase character with water and phonetic element.

拔

báto pull outUses hand radical (扌) instead of water (氵).

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

拔(bá)

拔 uses the hand radical (扌) for pulling things with hands, whereas 泼 uses the water radical (氵) for splashing liquids.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

请不要把茶[___]在桌子上。

Clue: pō

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the water radical (氵) with the hand radical (扌) due to visual similarity in fast handwriting.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 泼, what does it mean and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the character meaning 'to splash' with a water radical and a sound component?

泼pōto splash, to spill, rough and coarse

Speed:

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