帮 (bāng) is a Chinese character meaning “to help”. It is written from 邦 (state; nation) and 巾 (cloth), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to help”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
邦 + 巾
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分 ⿱邦巾（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：邦 6 + 巾 3 = 9）；《简化字总表》帮←幫，下部仍作巾，声符 邦 bāng 与本字读音一致
Memory aid
A whole state (邦) standing over one piece of cloth (巾): the country can only help you if someone actually hands over the cloth. Both parts are really in this character — 帮 is to help.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 帮助bāng zhùto help; to assist; help帮 = bāng
- 帮忙bāng mángto help; to lend a hand帮 = bāng
Go deeper
All readings
to help
to help; to assist; the side or upper part of something (as in a shoe or a boat); a group or gang
帮助、援助；也指物体两旁或上部的部分，以及成群的人。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 帮助bāng zhùto help; to assist; help帮 = bāng
- 帮忙bāng mángto help; to lend a hand帮 = bāng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 帮 mean?
帮 (bāng) means to help; to assist; the side or upper part of something (as in a shoe or a boat); a group or gang.
How do you pronounce 帮?
It is pronounced bāng.
What parts is 帮 made of?
邦 (state; nation) and 巾 (cloth), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分 ⿱邦巾（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：邦 6 + 巾 3 = 9）；《简化字总表》帮←幫，下部仍作巾，声符 邦 bāng 与本字读音一致. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 帮 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 帮?
巾. 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 帮?
Common ones are 帮助 and 帮忙. The reading of 帮 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.