浮 fú — to float
几片树叶浮在水面上。Jǐ piàn shù yè fú zài shuǐ miàn shàng.A few leaves float on the surface of the water.
Common words: 漂浮 (piāo fú)、浮现 (fú xiàn)、浮躁 (fú zào)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to float"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to float", including 浮 (fú), 飘 (piāo), 漂 (piāo / piǎo / piào). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to float" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 浮 (fú), 飘 (piāo), 漂 (piāo / piǎo / piào) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span fú, piāo, piǎo, piào — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 浮 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 浮 fúto floatUseful words: 漂浮, 浮现
- 飘 piāoto floatUseful words: 飘扬, 发飘
- 漂 piāo / piǎo / piàoto float; to drift; to bleach; elegant; polishedUseful words: 漂亮, 漂浮
Common words for these 3 "to float" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 浮 (fú) — so "to float" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
漂浮piāo fúto float; to hover; to drift (also fig., to lead a wandering life); to rove浮现fú xiàn(of a thought or image) to come to mind; (of a smile etc) to appear (on sb's face); (of a problem etc) to emerge浮躁fú zàofickle and impatient; restless; giddy; scatterbrained飘扬piāo yángto wave; to flutter; to fly发飘fā piāoto feel shaky; to feel wobbly飘然piāo ránto float in the air; swiftly; nimbly; easy and relaxed漂亮piào liangpretty; beautiful漂浮piāo fúto float; to hover; to drift (also fig., to lead a wandering life); to rove长漂cháng piāorafting on the Yangtze River
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 3 ways to say "to float".
飘 piāo — to float
天空中飘着几片雪花。Tiān kōng zhōng piāo zhe jǐ piàn xuě huā.A few snowflakes are floating in the sky.
Common words: 飘扬 (piāo yáng)、发飘 (fā piāo)、飘然 (piāo rán)
漂 piāo / piǎo / piào — to float; to drift; to bleach; elegant; polished
这条裙子真漂亮。Zhè tiáo qún zi zhēn piào liang.This dress is really pretty.
Common words: 漂亮 (piào liang)、漂浮 (piāo fú)、长漂 (cháng piāo)
All 3 characters
Open 浮、飘、漂 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.