芭 (bā) is a Chinese character meaning “the plantain / banana plant (as in 芭蕉)”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 巴 (to cling to; (transliteration syllable ba)), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “plantain / the bā in ballet”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 巴
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：笔画 0–2 为「艹」3 笔，笔画 3–6 为「巴」4 笔，合计 7 笔）
Memory aid
The grass top (艹) says this is a plant; 巴 sitting under it hands you the sound bā. A plant that is simply called bā — the plantain.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 芭蕾bā lěiballet芭 = bā
- 芭蕉bā jiāoplantain; banana plant芭 = bā
Go deeper
All readings
plantain; banana plant
the plantain / banana plant (as in 芭蕉); also used as a sound syllable in loanwords such as 芭蕾 (ballet)
指芭蕉一类的植物；也用作音译外来词的字，如「芭蕾」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 芭蕾bā lěiballet芭 = bā
- 芭蕉bā jiāoplantain; banana plant芭 = bā
Sound component
巴 family exact
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 芭 mean?
芭 (bā) means the plantain / banana plant (as in 芭蕉); also used as a sound syllable in loanwords such as 芭蕾 (ballet).
How do you pronounce 芭?
It is pronounced bā.
What parts is 芭 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 巴 (to cling to; (transliteration syllable ba)), one above the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：笔画 0–2 为「艹」3 笔，笔画 3–6 为「巴」4 笔，合计 7 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 芭 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 芭?
艹. 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 芭?
Common ones are 芭蕾 and 芭蕉. The reading of 芭 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.