泡

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

水 (물 수) — semantic component, indicating relation to water or liquid.

包 (쌀 포) — phonetic component, providing the sound pào / po and implying the notion of enclosure or something wrapped.

According to Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「泡，水上氣也。从水包聲。」

“泡 means vapor or bubbles on water. Formed from 水 (‘water’) and phonetic 包 (‘to wrap’).”

The image of 包 conveys something surrounded or encased, aptly describing a bubble — a small sphere of air enclosed within water.

The combination of the liquid element (水) and the enclosing form (包) visually and conceptually captures the essence of foam or bubbles rising on the surface.

泡沫 (포말) — foam, bubbles; also figuratively “transience” or “illusion”

氣泡 (기포) — air bubble

泡茶 (포차) — to steep tea

泡澡 (포조) — to take a bath, soak oneself

泡湯 (포탕) — to fail; (lit.) to “turn into a bath”

泡影 (포영) — shadow of a bubble; illusion, mirage

泡酒 (포주) — to infuse wine with herbs or fruit

泡妞 (포녀) — to flirt (slang, colloquial)

In classical usage, 泡 primarily referred to bubbles or froth formed on the surface of water — a natural image often used metaphorically to denote ephemerality or illusion.

From Zhuangzi (《莊子·天下篇》):

「浮生若泡影。」

“Human life floats like bubbles and shadows.”

Here, 泡 embodies the Daoist idea of impermanence — fragile, transient forms that arise and vanish with the flow of existence.

In Buddhist literature, 泡 (bubbles) are one of the traditional metaphors for the impermanent nature of phenomena (無常), alongside 夢 (dream), 影 (shadow), and 露 (dew):

「如露亦如電，應作如是觀。」 (Diamond Sutra, 《金剛經》)

“Like dew or a flash of lightning — thus should one regard all conditioned things.”

Although 泡 is not named in this exact line, it commonly appears in parallel texts meaning the same — short-lived, illusory forms that disappear as quickly as they appear.

In modern Chinese, 泡 has broadened its meaning through colloquial evolution:

- to soak or steep (e.g., 泡茶 “to brew tea”)

- to idle or linger (泡在家裡 “to stay at home doing nothing”)

- to socialize or hang out (泡酒吧 “to hang out at a bar”)

This versatility reflects the semantic shift from a physical bubble in water to figurative immersion in activity or environment.