How to Write 噗 (pū) — Meaning “puff; splat”

Imagine someone saying "Poo!" as they blow out a candle — the mouth (口) makes the puff sound, and the right side looks like a puff of air spreading out. You can also think of a clown saying "Pfft!" and spraying water, which matches the sudden release meaning.

The right side has several parts: a top 艹, a middle 穴, and a bottom 疋. A common mistake is making the bottom part too small or mixing up the strokes of 疋. Write the left 口 first, then the right side from top to bottom, keeping the whole character balanced.

㕡 (pǔ) is very rare and means "a place full of water" — it has a different right component and is almost never used today. 喿 (zào) means "noisy" or "chattering" and uses a different phonetic part (三位). 噗 is the only one that specifically describes a puff, splat, or sudden laugh sound.

噗 is used as an onomatopoeia for the sound of a puff of air, a splash, or a sudden laugh, like in 噗嗤 (snicker) or 噗通 (a plop into water). You might see it in comics or informal writing to imitate a character spitting out a drink or falling down. It is not part of standard HSK vocabulary but is common in playful or descriptive language.

Common words containing 噗 include: 噗嗤 (pū chī) — sound of a sudden laugh or spray; 噗通 (pū tōng) — plop; thump; 噗的一声 (pū de yī shēng) — with a puff or splat sound.