泡 pāo / pào — puffed; swollen; to steep; soak; bubble(s); foam
喝茶前，先用热水把茶叶泡一泡。Hē chá qián, xiān yòng rè shuǐ bǎ chá yè pào yi pào.Before drinking tea, steep the tea leaves in hot water first.
Common words: 泡沫 (pào mò)、浸泡 (jìn pào)、灯泡 (dēng pào)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "foam"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "foam", including 泡 (pāo / pào), 沫 (mò). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "foam" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 泡 (pāo / pào), 沫 (mò) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span pāo, pào, mò — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 泡 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 泡 pāo / pàopuffed; swollen; to steep; soak; bubble(s); foamUseful words: 泡沫, 浸泡
- 沫 mòfoam; sudsUseful words: 泡沫, 唾沫
Common words for these 2 "foam" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 泡 (pāo / pào) — so "foam" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "foam".
沫 mò — foam; suds
把肥皂搓一搓，会产生许多泡沫。Bǎ féi zào cuō yi cuō, huì chǎn shēng xǔ duō pào mò.Rubbing soap produces a lot of bubbles.
Common words: 泡沫 (pào mò)、唾沫 (tuò mo)、口沫 (kǒu mò)
All 2 characters
Open 泡、沫 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.