扒 (bā) is a Chinese character meaning “to push apart”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 八 (eight), side by side, and takes 5 strokes. It has a second reading, pá, which turns up in 扒手 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to push apart with your hand”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 八
Left–right structure
Structure from: ids-decomposition (⿰扌八; 3+2 笔与 hanzi-writer-data 的 5 笔字形一致)
Memory aid
A hand (扌) working on 八 — and 八 is here for its sound, bā. Picture the hand pushing something apart until it splits into the two separated strokes of 八.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 扒开bā kāito push apart; to pry open扒 = bā
Go deeper
All readings
to push apart
to push apart; to pry open; to hold on to; to strip off
用手把东西分开、拨开；也指抓住、剥掉。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 扒开bā kāito push apart; to pry open扒 = bā
to rake; to pilfer
to rake; to gather up; to pilfer from someone's pocket
用耙子等把东西聚拢；也指从别人身上偷东西。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 扒手pá shǒupickpocket扒 = pá
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 扒 mean?
扒 (bā) means to push apart; to pry open; to hold on to; to strip off.
How do you pronounce 扒?
Its main reading is bā. It also has a second reading, pá, which only shows up in certain words such as 扒手 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 扒 sometimes pronounced pá?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 扒手 it is read pá.
What parts is 扒 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 八 (eight), side by side. The recorded source is: ids-decomposition (⿰扌八; 3+2 笔与 hanzi-writer-data 的 5 笔字形一致). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 扒 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 扒?
扌. 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 扒?
Common ones are 扒开. The reading of 扒 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.