泡 means “bubble, foam”

あわ · awa

Also: bubbles, suds, froth

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)
あわ
On'yomi (Chinese reading)
ホウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 8 strokes

The story

Water (氵) wrapped (包) around a pocket of air: a bubble. 泡 is foam or bubbles, the head on a beer or the suds in a sink, and 水の泡 is hard work gone to nothing, like a bubble bursting.

Used in 泡 (awa, bubbles/foam), 水の泡 (mizu no awa, wasted effort), and 発泡酒 (happoushu, low-malt beer)

More from Streams & Springs

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.