备 (bèi): (bound form) to prepare, to equip, (literary) fully, completely
备 (bèi) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) to prepare.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 夂 (structural) and 田 (structural). It ranks #397 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 备 to go 夂 to the farm 田 to prepare for a harvest. Its radical form 夂 (go) appears in many related characters such as 处 (chǔ, to reside).
Definitions
- (bound form) to prepare
- to equip
- (literary) fully
- completely
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo go 夂 to the farm 田 to prepare for a harvest
Decomposition: ⿱夂田 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 备 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 备
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 准备verb | zhǔn bèi | preparation | 2 |
| 设备noun | shè bèi | equipment | 5 |
| 装备verb/noun | zhuāng bèi | equipment | 6 |
| 备用verb | bèi yòng | reserve | 6 |
| 具备verb | jù bèi | to possess | 5 |
| 筹备verb | chóu bèi | preparations | 6 |
| 配备verb/noun | pèi bèi | to allocate | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 后备adjective | hòu bèi | reserve |
| 预备verb | yù bèi | to prepare |
| 责备verb | zé bèi | to blame |
| 备忘录noun | bèi wàng lù | memorandum |
| 戒备verb | jiè bèi | to take precautions |
| 备份verb | bèi fèn | backup |
| 储备verb | chǔ bèi | to store up |
| 防备verb | fáng bèi | to guard against |
| 备受verb | bèi shòu | to receive a great deal of (respect, criticism, attention etc) |
| 必备verb | bì bèi | essential |
| 预备役 | yù bèi yì | reserve duty |
| 备注noun | bèi zhù | remarks column (abbr. for 備註欄|备注栏) |
| 备案verb | bèi àn | to put on record |
| 警备verb | jǐng bèi | guard |
| 备战verb | bèi zhàn | prepared against war |
备 appears in 100 compound words: 35 as the first character, 47 as the last, and 18 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 备 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
to have something ready just in case; to keep something for possible future use
to take advantage of sb in an unguarded moment (idiom); to take sb by surprise
to take advantage of sb in an unguarded moment (idiom); to take sb by surprise
Showing 12 of 13 idioms containing 备.
Example Sentences
我在字典里查到了备字的详细解释。
wǒ zài zì diǎn lǐ chá dào le bèi zì de xiáng xì xiè shì .
I looked up the detailed explanation of the character "备" in the dictionary.
推行6岁入学制须备足师资教室 叶祥均:避免政策“U转”劳民...
tuī háng 6 suì rù xué zhì xū bèi zú shī zī jiào shì xié xiáng jūn : bì miǎn zhèng cè U zhuǎn láo mín . . .
The implementation of the 6-year-old enrollment system must prepare sufficient teacher classrooms Ye Xiangjun: Avoid the policy "U transfer" to the labor and people...
美官员据报称若收到伊朗详细方案美方准备再与伊方举行核谈判
měi guān yuán jù bào chèn ruò shōu dào yī lǎng xiáng xì fāng àn měi fāng zhǔn bèi zài yǔ yī fāng jǔ háng hé tán pàn
U.S. officials reportedly said that if they receive a detailed plan from Iran, the United States is ready to hold nuclear negotiations with Iran again
制药设备热起来 皇将开年营收就翻倍成长
zhì yào shè bèi rè qǐ lái huáng jiāng kāi nián yíng shōu jiù fān bèi chéng cháng
Pharmaceutical equipment is heating up, and the revenue of the emperor will double at the beginning of the year
从投行看大陆/VIE架构境外上市备案实务
cóng tóu háng kàn dà lù V I E jià gòu jìng wài shàng shì bèi àn shí wù
From the perspective of investment banks, the mainland/VIE structure overseas listing filing practice
走到哪都看见她!施工外墙必备“神秘女郎” 真实用途超爆笑
zǒu dào nǎ dōu kàn jiàn tā ! shī gōng wài qiáng bì bèi shén mì nǚ láng zhēn shí yòng tú chāo bào xiào
I see her everywhere I go! The construction of exterior walls is a must-have "mystery girl" The real use is super hilarious
你什么时候才会准备好出发？
Nǐ shénmeshíhou cái huì zhǔnbèi hǎo chūfā?
When will you get ready to leave?
你们准备如何达到你们制定的目标？
Nǐmen zhǔnbèi rúhé dádào nǐmen zhìdìng de mùbiāo?
How do you plan to achieve the goals you set?
你们准备参加会议吗？
Nǐmen zhǔnbèi cānjiā huìyì ma?
Are you planning to take part in the meeting?
明天你能准备好离开吗？
Míngtiān nǐ néng zhǔnbèi hǎo líkāi ma?
Can you be ready to leave tomorrow?
Character Family
夂 Radical Family — Characters sharing the go radical
Related Characters
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 备 (bèi) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 备 have?
What is the radical of 备?
What are the components of 备?
What are common words containing 备?
What characters sound the same as 备 (bèi)?
Is 备 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 备 with real-time feedback
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