泛 fàn to drift
to drift; to float; broad
怎么记住“泛”: 氵 water + 乏 poor = to drift. The water is calm, but the poor fisherman has lost both oars, and now his boat is left to drift for hours.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
泛 = 氵 water + 乏 poor
- 氵 water meaning
- 乏 poor sound
The water is calm, but the poor fisherman has lost both oars, and now his boat is left to drift for hours.
How it came to be
The water gives the meaning and the right part gives the sound.
用法
- Bound morpheme meaning "broad/general" or, literally, "to float".
- 广泛 guǎngfàn is a common formal adjective for "wide-ranging/extensive", typically describing scope: 广泛应用 guǎngfàn yìngyòng, "widely applied", 广泛关注 guǎngfàn guānzhù, "widespread attention", mostly written/formal register.
- 泛滥 fànlàn literally "to flood/overflow (a riverbank)" is used figuratively for something spreading out of control: 盗版泛滥 dàobǎn fànlàn, "piracy is rampant", a strongly negative connotation.