堡 (bǎo): fort, castle
堡 (bǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “fort, castle.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 保 (structural) and 土 (structural). It ranks #1511 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 堡 earthen 土 walls built for defense 保; 保 also provides the meaning. 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
- fort, castle
Etymology & Origin
ideographicEarthen 土 walls built for defense 保; 保 also provides the meaning
Decomposition: ⿱保土 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 堡 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 汉堡noun | hàn bǎo | (loanword) hamburger |
| 城堡noun | chéng bǎo | castle |
| 汉堡包noun | hàn bǎo bāo | (loanword) hamburger |
| 堡垒noun | bǎo lěi | fort |
| 碉堡noun | diāo bǎo | (military) pillbox |
| 爱丁堡proper-noun | ài dīng bǎo | Edinburgh, capital of Scotland |
| 圣彼得堡proper-noun | shèng bǐ dé bǎo | Saint Petersburg (city in Russia) |
| 地堡noun | dì bǎo | bunker (underground fortification) |
| 纽伦堡proper-noun | niǔ lún bǎo | Nuremberg, town in Bavaria, Germany |
| 伊斯兰堡proper-noun | yī sī lán bǎo | Islamabad, capital of Pakistan |
| 卢森堡proper-noun | lú sēn bǎo | Luxembourg |
| 约翰内斯堡proper-noun | yuē hàn nèi sī bǎo | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| 古堡 | gǔ bǎo | ancient castle |
| 君士坦丁堡proper-noun | jūn shì tǎn dīng bǎo | Constantinople, capital of Byzantium |
| 斯特拉斯堡proper-noun | sī tè lā sī bǎo | Strasbourg |
堡 appears in 69 compound words: 7 as the first character, 78 as the last, and 14 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 堡 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
Showing 9 of 10 idioms containing 堡.
Example Sentences
这座古堡有几百年历史，现在是著名的旅游景点。
Zhè zuò gǔbǎo yǒu jǐbǎi nián lìshǐ, xiànzài shì zhùmíng de lǚyóu jǐngdiǎn.
This ancient castle has several hundred years of history and is now a famous tourist attraction.
羅素克洛主演的《紐倫堡》3月Netflix上線
羅 sù kè 洛 zhǔ yǎn de 紐 倫 bǎo yuè shàng 線
Russell Crowe's "Nuremberg" premieres on Netflix in March
...難吃 稱:「全世界只有去英國先搵到」的漢堡包
. . . 難 chī 稱 quán shì jiè zhī yǒu qù yīng 國 xiān 搵 dào de 漢 bǎo bāo
... Unpalatable: "The whole world can only find it in the UK"
午休搶時間!金色三麥「倒數漢堡」挑戰十分鐘出餐 超時就送兌換券
wǔ xiū 搶 時 間 ! jīn sè sān 麥 dǎo 數 漢 bǎo tiāo 戰 shí fēn 鐘 chū cān chāo 時 jiù sòng 兌 換 quàn
Grab time during lunch break! Golden Sanmai's "Countdown Burger" challenges ten-minute servings and gives away exchange coupons if you overtime
...腿飽餐減$10 麥樂雞/麥炸雞/豬柳蛋漢堡餐$29起
. . . tuǐ 飽 cān 減 麥 樂 雞 麥 zhà 雞 豬 liǔ dàn 漢 bǎo cān qǐ
... $10 off Leg Buns Chicken McNuggets/McFried Chicken/Pork Tenderloin Egg Burger Meals from $29
...職位 馬惟善:今年招商引資 打造灣區橋頭堡
. . . 職 wèi 馬 惟 shàn jīn nián zhāo shāng yǐn 資 dǎ zào 灣 區 橋 頭 bǎo
... Jobs Ma Weishan: This year's investment to create a bridgehead in the Bay Area
给我这座城堡的钥匙!
Gěi wǒ zhè zuò chéngbǎo de yàoshi!
Give me the key to this castle!
汤姆母亲是汉堡人，父亲是慕尼黑人。
Tāngmǔ mǔqīn shì hànbǎo rén, fùqīn shì Mùníhēi rén.
Tom's mother is from Hamburg and his father is from Munich.
我从没去过伊斯坦堡。
Wǒ cóngméi qù guo Yīsītǎnbǎo.
I've never been to Istanbul.
城堡如今已经成了废墟。
Chéngbǎo rújīn yǐjīng chéngle fèixū.
The castle is now in ruins.
Character Family
土 Radical Family — Characters sharing the earth radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 堡 (bǎo) mean in Chinese?
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What are common words containing 堡?
What characters sound the same as 堡 (bǎo)?
Is 堡 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 堡 with real-time feedback
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