博 (bó) is a Chinese character meaning “broad”. It is written from 十 (ten) and 尃 (to spread out), side by side, and takes 12 strokes.
Build the character for “broad; learned”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
十 + 尃
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS ⿰十尃 (cjkvi-ids / makemeahanzi decomposition, build-time); 说文解字: 博，大通也。从十从尃
Memory aid
Ten (十) on the left, and 尃 — "to spread out" — on the right: knowledge spread out in all ten directions makes someone broad and learned.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
12 strokes
In real words
- 博士bó shìdoctor (PhD); learned scholar博 = bó
- 博物馆bó wù guǎnmuseum博 = bó
- 渊博yuān bóerudite; deep and broad (of knowledge)博 = bó
Go deeper
All readings
broad; learned
broad; extensive; abundant; learned, knowing much; to gamble
多；广。也指知道得多，学识丰富。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 博士bó shìdoctor (PhD); learned scholar博 = bó
- 博物馆bó wù guǎnmuseum博 = bó
- 渊博yuān bóerudite; deep and broad (of knowledge)博 = bó
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 博 mean?
博 (bó) means broad; extensive; abundant; learned, knowing much; to gamble.
How do you pronounce 博?
It is pronounced bó.
What parts is 博 made of?
十 (ten) and 尃 (to spread out), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS ⿰十尃 (cjkvi-ids / makemeahanzi decomposition, build-time); 说文解字: 博，大通也。从十从尃. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 博 have?
12. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 博?
十. 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 博?
Common ones are 博士 and 博物馆. The reading of 博 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.