How to Write 泼 (pō) — Meaning “to splash; to sprinkle”

Think of the left side 氵 as three drops of water, and the right side 发 as a hand throwing something away. You can imagine someone splashing water by sending it out, which matches the action of splashing.

The right side 发 has four strokes: first a left-falling stroke (丿), then a horizontal stroke (一), another left-falling stroke, a folded stroke (㇇), and finally a dot. A common mistake is to make the right side too wide or confuse it with the similar shape 犮. Keep the water radical narrow and the right side compact.

The character 㳄 (xián) means saliva and uses 欠 (yawn) on the right, while 汊 (chà) means a river branch and uses 叉 (fork) on the right. In contrast, 泼 uses 发 on the right and means to splash or sprinkle. The visual difference is the right component: 发 has a folded stroke and dot, unlike the other two.

泼 is commonly used in words like 泼水 (pō shuǐ, to splash water) during the Water-Splashing Festival, and in 活泼 (huó pō, lively) to describe a person's energy. The word 泼辣 (pō là) describes someone who is bold and feisty, often used for assertive women. This character appears in both daily actions and personality descriptions.

Common words containing 泼 include: 泼水 (pō shuǐ) — to splash water; 活泼 (huó pō) — lively / vivacious; 泼辣 (pō là) — bold and vigorous; feisty.