piu1彯
Jyutpingpiu1
Yalepīu
Definition
Ornamented with tassels, or to sway in the wind.
colloquialdescriptionsnature
How it's used
This character is almost exclusively used in its reduplicated form 彯彯 to describe the visual effect of light, flexible objects like ribbons, flags, or long hair moving gracefully in the breeze. It carries a slightly literary or descriptive tone that is less common in everyday speech than more general verbs like 郁 or 飄. You will mostly encounter it in written descriptions or when someone is trying to be particularly expressive about movement.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 飄, which is a much more common word for floating or drifting in the air. 彯 specifically focuses on the swaying or fluttering motion of attached items rather than the act of flying or drifting through space.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
