泡沫

• Pinyin: pào mò
• Hanzi breakdown: 泡 = 氵 + 包 (water bubble); 沫 = 氵 + 末 (water at the end, froth at the surface)

Meaning

Foam; bubble; froth; an economic bubble; something that appears substantial but is hollow and fragile.

Used both literally for physical foam or bubbles and metaphorically for financial or social phenomena that are inflated and unsustainable. 泡沫经济 (bubble economy) is a key term in economic discourse.

Examples

1. 海浪拍打礁石，激起大量白色泡沫。 Waves crashed against the rocks, kicking up a lot of white foam.
2. 房地产泡沫一旦破裂，将引发连锁的金融危机。 If the housing bubble bursts, it will trigger a chain reaction of financial crises.
3. 网红经济中存在大量虚假繁荣的泡沫成分。 The influencer economy contains a lot of bubble-like elements of fake prosperity.

Usage Guide

Context: economics, finance, nature, media critique

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 分析师警告称，当前科技股估值已呈现出明显的泡沫特征。(Analysts have warned that the current valuation of technology stocks shows clear signs of a bubble.)
• 肥皂泡沫在阳光下折射出七彩的光芒，美丽而短暂。(Soap bubbles refract rainbow colours in the sunlight — beautiful and fleeting.)

Don't Say

• 他的谎言是一个泡沫 — use 谎言终将破灭 or 虚假的 to describe a lie; 泡沫 describes unsustainable inflation, not deception itself

Origin & History

泡 (bubble, soak) + 沫 (froth, foam) — both characters relate to the surface formation of liquid bubbles

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal