培 (péi) is a Chinese character meaning “to bank up with soil”. It is written from 土 (earth; soil) and 咅 (pǒu — a sound component (立 over 口), heard in 倍, 陪, 部), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to cultivate”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
土 + 咅
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS 现代字形拆分 ⿰土咅；与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验：第 1–3 笔属 土，第 4–11 笔属 咅；说文解字：培，从土咅声
Memory aid
Soil (土) heaped up beside 咅. Both parts are really in this character — picture piling soil around a young plant to help it grow: 培 means "to cultivate".
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 培养péi yǎngto cultivate; to train; to foster培 = péi
- 培训péi xùnto train (staff, students); training培 = péi
- 栽培zāi péito cultivate; to grow (plants); to train (talent)培 = péi
Go deeper
All readings
to cultivate
to bank up with soil; to cultivate; to foster; to train
在植物根部堆土；引申为培育、培养、训练人才。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 培养péi yǎngto cultivate; to train; to foster培 = péi
- 培训péi xùnto train (staff, students); training培 = péi
- 栽培zāi péito cultivate; to grow (plants); to train (talent)培 = péi
Sound component
咅 family
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 培 mean?
培 (péi) means to bank up with soil; to cultivate; to foster; to train.
How do you pronounce 培?
It is pronounced péi.
What parts is 培 made of?
土 (earth; soil) and 咅 (pǒu — a sound component (立 over 口), heard in 倍, 陪, 部), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS 现代字形拆分 ⿰土咅；与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验：第 1–3 笔属 土，第 4–11 笔属 咅；说文解字：培，从土咅声. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 培 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 培?
土. 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 培?
Common ones are 培养, 培训, 栽培. The reading of 培 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.