What 泼 means
It means to splash or spill liquid outward. A 6th-century Northern Wei farming manual uses 泼 for adding water during brewing.
Later texts use it for cooking and for liquid spilling from a tipped vessel. The Dai water-splashing festival grew from rice-growing culture and Theravada Buddhist rites between the 11th and 13th centuries; Theravada is a branch of Buddhism. In Mengjiao, Yunnan, a 2021 study describes the festival's order shifting from inherited ethnic rank to a local tradition associated with equality and solidarity.
Is 泼 the same as 潑?
Yes: 泼 is the simplified form of traditional 潑. Both forms have the same meanings. In 潑, 氵 is the water marker, while 發 is the sound component—a part that hints at pronunciation. Simplified 泼 keeps the water marker and reduces the right-hand part to 发.
拨 is a different character: its left-side 扌 is the hand marker, not the water marker 氵.
Neutral in physical-action compounds; in personality compounds it can judge someone as overbearing.
In 泼辣, do not assume praise; it can criticize someone as overbearing.
Part of the collection
Who writes 泼
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What it means when someone sends it to you
5 readingsToo broad to decode safely; ask for the surrounding word or sentence.
Don't confuse it with
2
Related characters
3
Combination ideas
3Questions people ask
2Does 泼辣 mean rude or bold?
It can be either. As praise, it suggests force and directness; as criticism, it can mean overbearing or aggressive.
Is 泼水节 just a water fight?
No. As of 2026, documented Dai practice includes ritual bathing, water blessing, and public celebration; it is not only recreational splashing.
More like this
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How to type or find 泼
- Also called
- 潑
- Search it as
- po · splash · spill · pour · 泼水 · 泼辣 · 泼墨 · 活泼
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
泼\6CFCCodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.