坝 (bà): (used in place names) plain, flatland, (dialect) sandbar, shoal, dam
坝 (bà) is a Chinese character meaning “(used in place names) plain.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 土 (semantic) and 贝 (phonetic). It ranks #2622 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 坝 earth. Its radical form 土 (earth) appears in many related characters such as 在 (zài, to exist), 地 (dì, earth, ground), 场 (chǎng, field, place).
Definitions
- (used in place names) plain
- flatland
- (dialect) sandbar
- shoal
- dam
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 水坝 | shuǐ bà | dam |
| 大坝 | dà bà | dam |
| 堤坝 | dī bà | dam |
| 阿坝藏族羌族自治州 | ā bà zàng zú qiāng zú zì zhì zhōu | Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, in Sichuan Province 四川省[Si4 chuan1 Sheng3] |
| 向家坝 | xiàng jiā bà | Xiangjiaba Dam, Yunnan, site of a hydropower station |
| 平坝区 | píng bà qū | Pingba, a district of Anshun City 安順市|安顺市[An1 shun4 Shi4], Guizhou |
| 阿斯旺高坝 | ā sī wàng gāo bà | the Aswan dam in south Egypt |
| 三峡大坝 | sān xiá dà bà | Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River |
| 绿坝·花季护航 | lǜ bà · huā jì hù háng | Green Dam Youth Escort, Internet content-control software, in use during 2009-2010 (abbr. to 綠壩|绿坝[Lu:4 ba4]) |
| 阿坝州 | ā bà zhōu | see 阿壩藏族羌族自治州|阿坝藏族羌族自治州[A1 ba4 Zang4 zu2 Qiang1 zu2 Zi4 zhi4 zhou1] |
| 平坝 | píng bà | see 平壩區|平坝区[Ping2 ba4 Qu1] |
| 留坝县 | liú bà xiàn | Liuba County in Hanzhong 漢中|汉中[Han4 zhong1], Shaanxi |
| 阿坝县 | ā bà xiàn | Ngawa, a county in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture 阿壩藏族羌族自治州|阿坝藏族羌族自治州[A1 ba4 Zang4 zu2 Qiang1 zu2 Zi4 ... |
| 院坝 | yuàn bà | (dialect) courtyard |
| 留坝 | liú bà | Liuba County in Hanzhong 漢中|汉中[Han4 zhong1], Shaanxi |
坝 appears in 27 compound words: 0 as the first character, 74 as the last, and 26 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 坝 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
坝豆是东北地区的主要农作物之一。
bà dòu shì dōng běi dì ōu de zhǔ yāo nóng zuò wù zhī yī .
Soybeans are one of the primary crops in Northeast China.
夏威夷遇20年最惨洪灾!120年水坝恐溃堤 损失逾十亿美金
xià wēi yí yù 2 0 nián zuì cǎn hóng zāi ! 1 2 0 nián shuǐ bà kǒng kuì dī sǔn shī yú shí yì měi jīn
Hawaii Hit by Worst Flooding in 20 Years! 120-Year-Old Dam at Risk of Collapsing; Damage Exceeds $1 Billion
...夏威夷暴雨连环来袭 5500人急撤百年水坝或溃堤
. . . xià wēi yí bào yǔ lián huán lái xí 5 5 0 0 rén jí chè bǎi nián shuǐ bà huò kuì dī
...Hawaii Hit by a Series of Heavy Rainstorms; 5,500 Evacuated as Centuries-Old Dam Threatens to Breach
安德大街跨坝河桥迎来新进展,下周临时通车
ān dé dà jiē kuà bà hé qiáo yíng lái xīn jìn zhǎn , xià zhōu lín shí tōng chē
New progress on the Ande Street Bridge over the Bahe River; temporary opening scheduled for next week
夏威夷水坝恐溃堤逾4千人急撤 洪水淹浸街道车辆
xià wēi yí shuǐ bà kǒng kuì dī yú 4 qiān rén jí chè hóng shuǐ yān jìn jiē dào chē liàng
Over 4,000 Evacuated as Hawaii Dam Faces Collapse; Floodwaters Submerge Streets and Vehicles
堤坝保护了城市免受洪灾。
Dībà bǎohù le chéngshì miǎnshòu hóngzāi.
The bank secured the city from a flood.
这个水坝给我们提供水和电。
Zhège shuǐbà gěi wǒmen tígōng shuǐ hé diàn.
This dam supplies us with water and electricity.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 坝 (bà) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 坝 and 败?
How many strokes does 坝 have?
What is the radical of 坝?
What are the components of 坝?
What are common words containing 坝?
What characters sound the same as 坝 (bà)?
Is 坝 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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