飘 (piāo): to float (in the air), to flutter, to waft, complacent, frivolous, weak, shaky, wobbly
飘 (piāo) is a Chinese character meaning “to float (in the air).” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 票 (phonetic) and 风 (semantic). It ranks #1517 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 飘 wind. Its radical form 风 (wind) appears in many related characters such as 风 (fēng, wind), 飙 (biāo, (literary) very strong wind).
Definitions
- to float (in the air)
- to flutter
- to waft
- complacent
- frivolous
- weak
- shaky
- wobbly
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 飘 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 飘飘然 | piāo piāo rán | elated |
| 飘逸 | piāo yì | graceful |
| 轻飘飘 | qīng piāo piāo | light as a feather |
| 飘荡 | piāo dàng | to drift |
| 飘扬 | piāo yáng | to wave |
| 飘忽 | piāo hū | swiftly moving |
| 飘浮 | piāo fú | to float |
| 飘落 | piāo luò | to float down |
| 飘动 | piāo dòng | to float |
| 飘飘 | piāo piāo | to float about |
| 飘渺 | piāo miǎo | faintly discernible |
| 飘零 | piāo líng | to fall and wither (like autumn leaves) |
| 飘然 | piāo rán | to float in the air |
| 飘散 | piāo sàn | to waft (through the air) |
| 飘舞 | piāo wǔ | to fly up |
飘 appears in 45 compound words: 73 as the first character, 4 as the last, and 22 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 飘 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
floating between zither and sword (idiom); fig. wandering aimlessly with no tenured position
floating between zither and sword (idiom); fig. wandering aimlessly with no tenured position
Example Sentences
飘字虽然难写,但意思很有趣。
piāo zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character "飘" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
春雨抚地八日湿 元宵雷动云掩月 惊蛰前后飘轻丝
chūn yǔ fǔ dì bā rì shī yuán xiāo léi dòng yún yǎn yuè jīng 蛰 qián hòu piāo qīng sī
The spring rain caresses the ground for eight days of wetness, the thunder of the Lantern Festival, the clouds cover the moon, and the light silk flutters before and after the hibernation
经典赛》王建民撞脸SJ希澈的飘发照 韩媒也关注
jīng diǎn sài wáng jiàn mín zhuàng liǎn S J xī chè de piāo fā zhào hán méi yě guān zhù
Classic" Wang Jianmin hit SJ Heechul's hair photo in the face Korean media also paid attention
...大涨,三大指数集体收涨,近4300只个股飘红
. . . dà zhǎng , sān dà zhǐ shǔ jí tǐ shōu zhǎng , jìn 4 3 0 0 zhī gè gǔ piāo hóng
... The three major indexes closed up collectively, and nearly 4,300 stocks were in the red
山东济南网红巨型空飘鳌鱼被大风吹走,现场工作人员尝..
shān dōng jì nán wǎng hóng jù xíng kōng piāo 鳌 yú bèi dà fēng chuī zǒu , xiàn chǎng gōng zuò rén yuán cháng . .
Shandong Jinan Internet celebrity giant floating turtle was blown away by strong winds, and the on-site staff tasted:
年味里飘出就业香 海州乡土人才市集767个岗位引...
nián wèi lǐ piāo chū jiù yè xiāng hǎi zhōu xiāng tǔ rén cái shì jí 7 6 7 gè gǎng wèi yǐn . . .
The fragrance of employment wafts out of the New Year's flavor Haizhou local talent market 767 jobs attract...
我见到一片白云在空中飘过。
Wǒ jiàndào yí piàn báiyún zài kōngzhōng piāo guo.
I saw a white cloud sailing across the sky.
一朵白云在蓝天上飘。
Yì duǒ báiyún zài lántiān shàng piāo.
A white cloud floats in the blue sky.
他是世上第一个在太空中飘浮的人。
Tā shì shìshàng dìyī gè zài tàikōng zhōng piāofú de rén.
He was the first man to float in space.
她的一头金发在夏日的微风中飘荡。
Tā de yītóu jīnfà zài xiàrì de wēifēng zhōng piāo dàng.
Her golden hair floats in the summer breeze.
Character Family
风 Radical Family — Characters sharing the wind radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 飘 (piāo) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 飘 and 刚?
How many strokes does 飘 have?
What is the radical of 飘?
What are the components of 飘?
What are common words containing 飘?
What characters sound the same as 飘 (piāo)?
Is 飘 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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