漂 means “drift, float”

ただよう · tadayou

Also: float (on liquid)

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

ただよう

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ヒョウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 14 strokes

The story

Water (氵) with a slip of paper (票) floating on it: drifting. 漂う is to drift, and also how a smell or a mood hangs in the air; 漂流 is drifting at sea, and 漂白, whitening by rinsing, gives 漂白剤, bleach.

Used in 漂う (tadayou, to drift; hang in the air), 漂流 (hyouryuu, drifting at sea), and 漂白剤 (hyouhakuzai, bleach)

More from Ships & Shores

• 浪 waves
• 涯 limit
• 舶 ship
• 沙 sand
• 帆 sail
• 岬 cape
• 礁 reef
• 汽 steam
• 藻 seaweed
• 舷 ship's side
• 浜 beach
• 江 inlet

Learn 漂 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

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