背 (bèi): the back of a body or object, to turn one's back, to hide something from
背 (bèi) is a Chinese character meaning “the back of a body or object.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 北 (phonetic) and ⺼ (semantic). It ranks #787 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 背 flesh. Its radical form 肉 (meat) appears in many related characters such as 肉 (ròu, meat), 能 (néng, can), 胜 (shèng, victory).
Definitions
- the back of a body or object
- to turn one's back
- to hide something from
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 背 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 背
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 背后noun | bèi hòu | behind | 5 |
| 背景noun | bèi jǐng | background | 5 |
| 背包noun | bēi bāo | knapsack | 4 |
| 背心noun | bèi xīn | sleeveless garment (vest, waistcoat, singlet, tank top etc) | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 背叛verb | bèi pàn | to betray |
| 违背verb | wéi bèi | to go against |
| 后背noun | hòu bèi | the back (human anatomy) |
| 背部noun | bèi bù | back (of a human or other vertebrate, or of an object) |
| 背面noun | bèi miàn | the back |
| 背负verb | bēi fù | to bear |
| 背着 | bēi zhe | carrying on one's back |
| 背弃verb | bèi qì | to abandon |
| 背黑锅verb | bēi hēi guō | to be made a scapegoat |
| 驼背adjective | tuó bèi | hunchbacked |
| 背诵verb | bèi sòng | to recite |
| 背地里adverb | bèi dì li | behind sb's back |
| 背道而驰phrase | bèi dào ér chí | to run in the opposite direction (idiom) |
| 手背noun | shǒu bèi | back of the hand |
| 马背noun | mǎ bèi | horse's back |
背 appears in 101 compound words: 62 as the first character, 31 as the last, and 7 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 背 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (19)
to run in opposite directions; to run counter to; to be inconsistent with
to break the faith and disregard righteousness; to act perfidiously; perfidious, treacherous; treachery, perfidy
to throw one's arm around someone's shoulder; (figuratively) to be on intimate terms with one another
to run in opposite directions; to run counter to; to be inconsistent with
to throw one's arm around someone's shoulder; (figuratively) to be on intimate terms with one another
Showing 12 of 19 idioms containing 背.
Example Sentences
背字由11笔画组成，结构很巧妙。
bēi zì yóu bǐ huà zǔ chéng , jié gòu hěn qiǎo miào .
The character "背" consists of 11 strokes and has a very clever structure.
女生徒步失联被找到:用牛粪保温 背后真相令人心疼
nǚ shēng tú bù shī lián bèi zhǎo dào : yòng niú fèn bǎo wēn bèi hòu zhēn xiāng lìng rén xīn téng
The female student was found missing: the truth behind the cow dung was distressing
“月背本没有路,我们来了,便走出了属于自己的路...
yuè bèi běn méi yǒu lù , wǒ men lái le , biàn zǒu chū le shǔ yú zì jǐ de lù . . .
"There is no road behind the moon, we came, and we walked out of our own way...
买房背千万贷款20年 486先生:是投资还是给...
mǎi fáng bèi qiān wàn dài kuǎn 2 0 nián 4 8 6 xiān shēng : shì tóu zī hái shì gěi . . .
Buy a house with a loan of 10 million for 20 years Mr. 486: Is it investment or giving...
为什么百货公司一楼没厕?背后原因超心机
wéi shén má bǎi huò gōng sī yī lóu méi cè ? bèi hòu yuán yīn chāo xīn jī
Why is there no toilet on the first floor of a department store? The reason behind it is super scheming
搭新干线遇孩童狂踢椅背 近7成日本人选择忍?坦言是怕“他们”
dā xīn gān xiàn yù hái tóng kuáng tī yǐ bèi jìn 7 chéng rì běn rén xuǎn zé rěn ? tǎn yán shì pà tā men
Nearly 70% of Japanese people choose to endure when they encounter children on the Shinkansen? Frankly said that he was afraid of "them"
那背后是什么意思？
Nà bèihòu shì shénme yìsi?
What's the idea behind that?
帮我搓一下背好吗？
Bāng wǒ cuō yīxià bèi hǎo ma?
Can you rub my back?
你知道书架背后藏着一条秘密通道吗？
Nǐ zhīdào shūjià bèihòu cáng zhe yī tiáo mìmì tōngdào ma?
Did you know there was a secret passage hidden behind the bookcase?
为什么小朋友得背这么重的书包呢?
Wèishénme xiǎopéngyǒu de bèi zhème zhòng de shūbāo ne?
Why do children have to carry such a heavy bag?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the ⺼ (flesh) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 背 (bèi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 背 and 前?
How many strokes does 背 have?
What is the radical of 背?
What are the components of 背?
What are common words containing 背?
What characters sound the same as 背 (bèi)?
Is 背 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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