伯 (bó) is a Chinese character meaning “father's elder brother”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 白 (white; plain), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “father's elder brother”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 白
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（伯，長也。从人白聲）
Memory aid
A person (亻) whose hair has already turned white (白) — the older brother of your father.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 伯父bó fùfather's elder brother; uncle伯 = bó
- 大伯dà bófather's eldest brother; a polite way to address an older man伯 = bó
- 阿拉伯ā lā bóArab; Arabic; Arabia伯 = bó
Go deeper
All readings
father's elder brother
father's elder brother; a respectful term for an older man; the eldest among brothers
父亲的哥哥；对年长男子的尊称；兄弟排行中的老大。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 伯父bó fùfather's elder brother; uncle伯 = bó
- 大伯dà bófather's eldest brother; a polite way to address an older man伯 = bó
- 阿拉伯ā lā bóArab; Arabic; Arabia伯 = bó
Sound component
白 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 伯 mean?
伯 (bó) means father's elder brother; a respectful term for an older man; the eldest among brothers.
How do you pronounce 伯?
It is pronounced bó.
What parts is 伯 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 白 (white; plain), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（伯，長也。从人白聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 伯 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 伯?
人. 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 伯?
Common ones are 伯父 and 大伯. The reading of 伯 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.