宝 (bǎo): jewel, gem, treasure
宝 (bǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “jewel.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 宀 (structural) and 玉 (structural). It ranks #811 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 宝 jade 玉 kept in one's house 宀. Its radical form 宀 (roof) appears in many related characters such as 客 (kè, guest, customer), 家 (jiā, home, family), 它 (tā, it).
Definitions
- jewel
- gem
- treasure
Etymology & Origin
ideographicJade 玉 kept in one's house 宀
Decomposition: ⿱宀玉 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 宝 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 宝
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 宝贝noun | bǎo bèi | treasured object | 5 |
| 珠宝noun | zhū bǎo | pearls | 6 |
| 宝贵adjective | bǎo guì | valuable | 5 |
| 国宝noun | guó bǎo | national treasure | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 宝宝noun | bǎo bao | darling |
| 宝藏noun | bǎo zàng | precious mineral deposits |
| 财宝noun | cái bǎo | money and valuables |
| 宝石noun | bǎo shí | precious stone |
| 宝马noun | bǎo mǎ | precious horse |
| 珍宝noun | zhēn bǎo | a treasure |
| 宝剑noun | bǎo jiàn | (double-edged) sword (esp. a valuable or famous one) |
| 宝物noun | bǎo wù | treasure |
| 红宝石 | hóng bǎo shí | ruby |
| 宝座noun | bǎo zuò | throne |
| 无价之宝 | wú jià zhī bǎo | (idiom) priceless treasure |
| 宝典noun | bǎo diǎn | canonical text |
| 宝库noun | bǎo kù | treasure-house |
| 传家宝 | chuán jiā bǎo | family heirloom |
| 活宝noun | huó bǎo | buffoon |
宝 appears in 102 compound words: 52 as the first character, 34 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 宝 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
old but still got it; as vigorous and active as before; just as skilled as when one was young
ushering in wealth and prosperity (idiom and traditional greeting, esp. at New Year); We wish you wealth and success!
ushering in wealth and prosperity (idiom and traditional greeting, esp. at New Year); We wish you wealth and success!
Showing 11 of 12 idioms containing 宝.
Example Sentences
宝字在日常生活中使用频率中等。
bǎo zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ zhōng děng .
The character "宝" is used moderately frequently in daily life.
震撼!挖3563克拉紫星彩宝 飙126亿台币
zhèn hàn ! wā 3 5 6 3 kè lā zǐ xīng cǎi bǎo biāo 1 2 6 yì tái bì
Shocking! Digging 3,563 carats of purple star colored treasures soared to NT$12.6 billion
以为黄金!贼闯宅偷宝盒 他:是我肾结石
yǐ wéi huáng jīn ! zéi chuǎng zhái tōu bǎo hé tā : shì wǒ shèn jié shí
Think it's gold! Thieves break into the house and steal treasure boxes He: It's my kidney stones
4宝爸出轨小三24次!性爱行事历曝光 人妻试...
4 bǎo bà chū guǐ xiǎo sān 2 4 cì ! xìng ài háng shì lì pù guāng rén qī shì . . .
4 Bao Dad cheated on the mistress 24 times! Sex calendar exposed Married woman test...
新春走基层|喜迎10名小马宝宝,一天8台手术——他..
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng xǐ yíng 1 0 míng xiǎo mǎ bǎo bǎo , yī tiān 8 tái shǒu shù — — tā . .
Welcome 10 pony babies, 8 surgeries a day - he:
致敬坚守者:宝山这些身影温暖了我们的团圆年|在宝山..
zhì jìng jiān shǒu zhě : bǎo shān zhè xiē shēn yǐng wēn nuǎn le wǒ men de tuán yuán nián zài bǎo shān . .
Salute to the perseverance: These figures of Baoshan warmed our reunion year|In Baoshan:
海盗把财宝藏进了地底。
Hǎidào bǎ cáibǎo cáng jìn le dìdǐ.
The pirates buried their treasure in the ground.
萨米是海绵宝宝粉丝。
Sà mǐ shì Hǎimián Bǎobǎo fěnsī.
Sami is a SpongeBob fan.
这只企鹅宝宝太可爱了！
Zhè zhǐ qǐ'é bǎobǎo tài kě'ài le!
This baby penguin is too cute!
您毁掉了我的宝马！
Nín huǐdiào le wǒ de bǎomǎ!
You ruined my BMW!
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 宝 (bǎo) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 宝 have?
What is the radical of 宝?
What are the components of 宝?
What are common words containing 宝?
What characters sound the same as 宝 (bǎo)?
Is 宝 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 宝 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.