漂流 piāoliú to float on the current
to float on the current; to drift along or about; rafting
How to remember 漂流: 漂 pretty + 流 flow = to float on the current.
Characters
How it is used
- Literal floating along on a current - 木头在河上漂流 (mùtou zài hé shàng piāoliú) the log drifts down the river; also the sport of rafting: 漂流 as a river-rafting activity.
- Concrete and physical, unlike 漂泊 which is a metaphor for a wandering life.
- Common collocations: 漂流瓶 (piāoliúpíng) a message-in-a-bottle, and 漂流探险 rafting adventure.