泡 (pào) is a Chinese character meaning “bubble”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 包 (to wrap; bundle), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “bubble”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
氵 + 包
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字「泡，水……从水包聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵包，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–7 与「包」逐笔对应（3+5=8画）
Memory aid
Water (氵) on the left, 包 "to wrap" on the right: a skin of water wrapping a pocket of air — a bubble.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 泡沫pào mòfoam; bubbles; froth泡 = pào
- 气泡qì pàoair bubble; gas bubble泡 = pào
- 浸泡jìn pàoto soak; to steep (in liquid)泡 = pào
Go deeper
All readings
bubble
bubble; blister; to steep or soak something in liquid
气体在液体里形成的球状物；也指把东西放在液体里长时间地浸。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 泡沫pào mòfoam; bubbles; froth泡 = pào
- 气泡qì pàoair bubble; gas bubble泡 = pào
- 浸泡jìn pàoto soak; to steep (in liquid)泡 = pào
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 泡 mean?
泡 (pào) means bubble; blister; to steep or soak something in liquid.
How do you pronounce 泡?
It is pronounced pào.
What parts is 泡 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 包 (to wrap; bundle), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「泡，水……从水包聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵包，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–7 与「包」逐笔对应（3+5=8画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 泡 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 泡?
氵. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 泡?
Common ones are 泡沫 and 气泡. The reading of 泡 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.