爬 (pá) is a Chinese character meaning “to crawl”. It is written from 爪 (claw) and 巴 (to cling to; (transliteration syllable ba)), one enclosing the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to crawl; to climb”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
爪 + 巴
Enclosing structure
Structure from: IDS 拆分 ⿺爪巴，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–3 为「爪」（末笔捺向右下伸出，托在右部下方），笔画 4–7 为「巴」
Memory aid
A claw (爪) that clings on (巴). Both parts are really in this character — grip with your claws and you can crawl, or climb.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 爬山pá shānto climb a mountain; to go hiking爬 = pá
- 爬行pá xíngto crawl; to creep爬 = pá
Go deeper
All readings
to crawl; to climb
to crawl; to creep; to climb (using hands and feet)
手和脚一起着地向前移动；也指用手脚向上攀登。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 爬山pá shānto climb a mountain; to go hiking爬 = pá
- 爬行pá xíngto crawl; to creep爬 = pá
Sound component
巴 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 爬 mean?
爬 (pá) means to crawl; to creep; to climb (using hands and feet).
How do you pronounce 爬?
It is pronounced pá.
What parts is 爬 made of?
爪 (claw) and 巴 (to cling to; (transliteration syllable ba)), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: IDS 拆分 ⿺爪巴，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–3 为「爪」（末笔捺向右下伸出，托在右部下方），笔画 4–7 为「巴」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 爬 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 爬?
爪. 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 爬?
Common ones are 爬山 and 爬行. The reading of 爬 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.