DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

漂浮

Mandarin · pinyin piāo fú

to float
to hover
to drift (also fig., to lead a wandering life)
to rove
showy
superficial

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Characters in this entry

漂: piào · float, drift; tossed about
浮: fú · to float, drift, waft; to exceed; superfluous

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2 · piao1 fu2

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

piu1 fau4

Cantonese word readings for 漂浮. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to float (usually in air)

adj

superficial; showy (of style of work)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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