玻 (bō) is a Chinese character meaning “glass (only used in compounds, chiefly 玻璃)”. It is written from 王 (king) and 皮 (skin; hide; leather), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “glass”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
王 + 皮
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：王 4 画 + 皮 5 画 = 9 画）
Memory aid
On the left, 王 — here the jade-and-stone side, not a king. On the right, 皮, skin or surface. A stone-hard sheet with a perfectly smooth skin: glass.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 玻璃bō líglass玻 = bōspoken asbō li
- 玻璃杯bō lí bēiglass (drinking cup)玻 = bōspoken asbō li bēi
Go deeper
All readings
glass
glass (only used in compounds, chiefly 玻璃)
只用在词里，指玻璃这种透明硬质材料。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 玻璃bō líglass玻 = bōspoken asbō li
- 玻璃杯bō lí bēiglass (drinking cup)玻 = bōspoken asbō li bēi
Sound component
皮 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 玻 mean?
玻 (bō) means glass (only used in compounds, chiefly 玻璃).
How do you pronounce 玻?
It is pronounced bō.
What parts is 玻 made of?
王 (king) and 皮 (skin; hide; leather), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：王 4 画 + 皮 5 画 = 9 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 玻 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 玻?
玉. 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 玻?
Common ones are 玻璃 and 玻璃杯. The reading of 玻 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.