巴 (bā) is a Chinese character meaning “to cling to”. It is written from ㇕ (horizontal-turning stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇘ (vertical-turning hook stroke), and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “to cling to”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇕ + ㇑ + ㇐ + ㇘
Overlapping structure
- ㇕ horizontal-turning stroke unknown
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇘ vertical-turning hook stroke unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+5DF4 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 横折 ㇕ / 竖 ㇑ / 横 ㇐ / 竖弯钩 ㇘)
Memory aid
A 横折 (㇕) turns the corner at the top, a 竖 (㇑) drops down inside it, and a 横 (㇐) closes the little box underneath. Then one long 竖弯钩 (㇘) runs down the left, along the bottom and flicks up — the box is clinging to that hook and will not let go.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 巴士bā shìbus巴 = bā
- 巴西bā xīBrazil巴 = bā
Go deeper
All readings
to cling to
to cling to; to stick close to; to hope earnestly for something
紧紧贴着、粘住；也表示急切地盼望。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 巴士bā shìbus巴 = bā
- 巴西bā xīBrazil巴 = bā
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 巴 mean?
巴 (bā) means to cling to; to stick close to; to hope earnestly for something.
How do you pronounce 巴?
It is pronounced bā.
What parts is 巴 made of?
㇕ (horizontal-turning stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇘ (vertical-turning hook stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+5DF4 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 横折 ㇕ / 竖 ㇑ / 横 ㇐ / 竖弯钩 ㇘). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 巴 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 巴?
己. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 巴?
Common ones are 巴士 and 巴西. The reading of 巴 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.