How to Write 疱 (pào) — Meaning “blister”

Imagine a person gets a blister (疱) on their foot, so they wrap (包) it with a bandage because it is like a painful "package" on the skin. The radical 疒 reminds you it is a health issue, and 包 helps you remember it is a small wrapped bump.

Start with the radical 疒: first write the dot (丶) on top left, then the horizontal stroke (一), then the slight left-falling stroke (丿), and finally the two small dots (丶丶) inside. Then add 包: note the top stroke is a short left-falling stroke (ノ), followed by 勹 (a wrap shape) with 巳 inside — be careful not to make 巳 too big.

疱 (pào) specifically means a fluid-filled blister, like 水疱 (water blister). 疙 (gē) means a pimple or lump (e.g., 疙瘩, lump), while 疚 (jiù) means a chronic illness or guilt (e.g., 内疚, guilty). Visually, 疱 has 包 inside, 疙 has 乞, and 疚 has 久.

疱 is commonly used in medical or daily contexts for skin blisters, such as 水疱 (shuǐ pào, water blister) from burns or friction. It also appears in medical terms like 疱疹 (pào zhěn, herpes). It is not a casual word but appears in health descriptions or doctor visits.

Common words containing 疱 include: 水疱 (shuǐ pào) — Blister; 疱疹 (pào zhěn) — herpes; 起疱 (qǐ pào) — to blister.