泛 is also the simplified spelling of 氾, 汎.
泛
Meanings
- (bound form) general
- non-specific
- extensive
- pan-
- to flood
- (literary) to float about
- to be suffused with (a color, emotion, odor etc)
Characters in this entry
- 泛
- fàn · to drift, float; careless, reckless
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
4 · fan4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 9 senses · 5 Cantonese readings
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
faan3 · faan4 · faan6 · fung2 · fung3
Cantonese word readings for 泛. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character · Etymology 1
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to float on water; to drift
- to spread out; to be suffused with
- to flood; to overflow
- superficial; non-specific
- extensive; general; pan-
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) careless; reckless
character · Etymology 2
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to turn over; to topple over
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to be destroyed; to be defeated; to fall
character · Etymology 3
- (historical dictionaries only) The sound of water.
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack