把 (bǎ): to hold, measure word
把 (bǎ) is a Chinese character meaning “to hold, measure word.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (semantic) and 巴 (phonetic). It ranks #110 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 把 hand. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to hold, measure word
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 把 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 把
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 把戏noun | bǎ xì | acrobatics |
| 把柄noun | bǎ bǐng | handle |
| 把门verb | bǎ mén | to stand as a goalkeeper |
| 把手noun | bǎ shǒu | to shake hands |
| 火把noun | huǒ bǎ | torch |
| 拖把noun | tuō bǎ | mop |
| 把头noun | bǎ tóu | labor contractor |
| 把守verb | bǎ shǒu | to guard |
| 扫把noun | sào bǎ | broom |
| 个把numeral | gè bǎ | (coll.) about one |
| 把持verb | bǎ chí | to control |
| 把酒verb | bǎ jiǔ | to raise one's wine cup |
| 二把手noun | èr bǎ shǒu | deputy leader |
| 鬼把戏noun | guǐ bǎ xì | sinister plot |
| 一把手noun | yī bǎ shǒu | working hand |
把 appears in 92 compound words: 37 as the first character, 17 as the last, and 46 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 把 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
to engage in speculation and profiteering, especially when against the law in a planned economy
Example Sentences
把这把椅子搬到会议室去，那里需要加座位。
Bǎ zhè bǎ yǐzi bān dào huìyìshì qù, nàlǐ xūyào jiā zuòwèi.
Move this chair to the conference room; they need extra seats there.
热/快把记忆体捡回来? 台股4强曝
rè kuài bǎ jì yì tǐ jiǎn huí lái ? tái gǔ 4 qiáng pù
Hot/Quickly pick up the memory back? Taiwan stocks are the top 4 exposed
用金牌当屏保,宁忠岩不过是把冷板凳坐热
yòng jīn pái dāng bǐng bǎo , nìng zhōng yán bù guò shì bǎ lěng bǎn dèng zuò rè
Using the gold medal as a screensaver, Ning Zhongyan is just sitting on the cold bench to heat up
把年味种在“商城之心”,在商博遇见另一种团...
bǎ nián wèi zhǒng zài shāng chéng zhī xīn , zài shāng bó yù jiàn lìng yī zhǒng tuán . . .
Planting the New Year's flavor in the "heart of the mall" and meeting another group at the business expo...
新春走基层|一把推子藏着消防“传帮带”的暖与刚
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng yī bǎ tuī zǐ zàng zhe xiāo fáng chuán bāng dài de nuǎn yú gāng
Chinese New Year grass-roots level | a pusher hidden fire "pass on the belt" of the warm and just
上海人能把“马”吃出多少新花样?
shǎng hǎi rén néng bǎ mǎ chī chū duō shǎo xīn huā yàng ?
How many new ways can the Shanghainese eat "horse"?
你想把耳朵露出来吗？
Nǐ xiǎng bǎ ěrduo lùchū lái ma?
Would you like your ears to show?
请把帐单给我好吗？
Qǐng bǎ zhàngdān gěi wǒ hǎo ma?
May I have the check, please?
请您把那扇窗户关起来好吗？
Qǐng nín bǎ nà shān chuānghu guān qǐlai hǎo ma?
Can you please close that window?
你把钥匙给汤姆了吗？
Nǐ bǎ yàoshi gěi Tāngmu le ma?
Did you give Tom the key?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 把 (bǎ) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 把 and 爬?
How many strokes does 把 have?
What is the radical of 把?
What are the components of 把?
What are common words containing 把?
What characters sound the same as 把 (bǎ)?
Is 把 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 把 with real-time feedback
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