漂 (piāo): to float, to drift, to bleach
漂 (piāo) is a Chinese character meaning “to float.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 票 (phonetic). It ranks #1558 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 漂 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- to float
- to drift
- to bleach
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 漂 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 漂
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 漂浮 | piāo fú | to float |
| 漂流 | piāo liú | to float on the current |
| 漂移 | piāo yí | to drift |
| 漂白 | piǎo bái | to bleach |
| 漂白剂 | piǎo bái jì | bleach |
| 漂泊 | piāo bó | (of a boat) to float |
| 漂洗 | piǎo xǐ | to rinse (clothes) |
| 打水漂 | dǎ shuǐ piāo | to skip stones (on water) |
| 漂白水 | piǎo bái shuǐ | bleach |
| 漂流者 | piāo liú zhě | drifter |
| 长漂 | cháng piāo | rafting on the Yangtze River (abbr. for 長江漂流|长江漂流[Chang2 Jiang1 piao1 liu2]) |
| 漂走 | piāo zǒu | to float away |
| 大陆漂移 | dà lù piāo yí | continental drift |
| 爱漂亮 | ài piào liang | to like looking attractive (usually of girls) |
| 北漂 | běi piāo | to migrate to Beijing or Taipei in search of better job opportunities |
漂 appears in 34 compound words: 65 as the first character, 18 as the last, and 18 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 漂 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
这条河的水很清澈，可以看到鱼儿在水里游来游去。
Zhè tiáo hé de shuǐ hěn qīngchè, kěyǐ kàn dào yúr zài shuǐ lǐ yóu lái yóu qù.
The water in this river is very clear; you can see fish swimming around.
电影《漂移者》先导预告
diàn yǐng piāo yí zhě xiān dǎo yù gào
Teaser Trailer for the Movie *The Drifter*
针对漂白鸡爪等违法行 市监局强调严查到底
zhēn duì piāo bái jī zhǎo děng wéi fǎ háng shì jiān jú qiáng diào yán chá dào de
In response to illegal practices such as bleaching chicken feet, the Market Supervision Bureau has emphasized that it will conduct thorough investigations
客户失联、货在海上漂!中国义乌被伊朗害的好惨
kè hù shī lián , huò zài hǎi shàng piāo ! zhōng guó yì wū bèi yī lǎng hài de hǎo cǎn
Clients have gone missing, and the goods are stuck at sea! China’s Yiwu has been hit hard by Iran
陆女北漂生病!爸妈听1句话寄巨大包裹 她打开惊呼...
lù nǚ běi piāo shēng bìng ! bà mā tīng 1 jù huà jì jù dà bāo guǒ tā dǎ kāi jīng hū . . .
A young woman from the mainland falls ill while living in Beijing! After hearing just one sentence from her parents, they send her a huge package—and when she opens it, she gasps in surprise...
「“一带一路”陕西人」漂洋过海来团圆
yī dài yī lù 陕 xī rén piāo yáng guò hǎi lái tuán yuán
"One Belt, One Road" Shaanxi People" Reunion Across the Ocean
这条裙子挺漂亮的，可以试穿吗？
Zhè tiáo qúnzi tǐng piàoliang de, kěyǐ shìchuān ma?
I like this skirt. May I try it on?
是呀，这个很漂亮。多少钱？
Shì ya, zhège hěn piàoliang. duōshao qián?
Yes, this one is very nice. How much does it cost?
你今天穿得非常漂亮啊！
Nǐ jīntiān chuān de fēicháng piàoliang ā!
Your outfit today is so gorgeous!
我家附近有个漂亮的公园。
Wǒ jiā fùjìn yǒu ge piàoliang de gōngyuán.
There is a beautiful park near my home.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 漂 (piāo)?
Is 漂 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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