壁 (bì): wall, rampart
壁 (bì) is a Chinese character meaning “wall.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 辟 (phonetic) and 土 (semantic). It ranks #1372 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 壁 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
- wall
- rampart
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 壁
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 壁橱noun | bì chú | a built-in wardrobe or cupboard |
| 壁炉noun | bì lú | fireplace |
| 壁画noun | bì huà | mural (painting) |
| 壁球noun | bì qiú | squash (sport) |
| 壁纸noun | bì zhǐ | wallpaper |
| 峭壁noun | qiào bì | cliff |
| 壁虎noun | bì hǔ | gecko |
| 碰壁verb | pèng bì | to hit a wall |
| 绝壁noun | jué bì | precipice |
| 飞檐走壁phrase | fēi yán zǒu bì | to leap onto roofs and vault over walls (usually associated with martial arts) |
| 铜墙铁壁phrase | tóng qiáng tiě bì | copper wall, iron bastion (idiom) |
| 悬崖峭壁phrase | xuán yá qiào bì | (idiom) sheer cliffs and precipitous rock faces |
| 家徒四壁phrase | jiā tú sì bì | lit. with only four bare walls for a home (idiom) |
| 半壁江山phrase | bàn bì jiāng shān | half of the country (esp. when half the country has fallen into enemy hands) |
| 壁龛noun | bì kān | niche (in a wall) |
壁 appears in 92 compound words: 27 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 29 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 壁 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (22)
half of the country (usually referring to the unoccupied part of an invaded country)
half of the country (usually referring to the unoccupied part of an invaded country)
to fortify defences and evacuate all civilians and supplies; scorched-earth policy
impregnable and indestructible wall or barrier; something very firm and indestructible
synonym of 向壁虛構 /向壁虚构 (xiàngbìxūgòu, “to make up out of one's head; to fabricate”)
half of the country (usually referring to the unoccupied part of an invaded country)
half of the country (usually referring to the unoccupied part of an invaded country)
to fortify defences and evacuate all civilians and supplies; scorched-earth policy
impregnable and indestructible wall or barrier; something very firm and indestructible
Showing 12 of 22 idioms containing 壁.
Example Sentences
春天到了，农民开始翻壁播种。
chūn tiān dào le , nóng mín kāi shǐ fān bì bō zhǒng .
Spring has arrived, and farmers have begun tilling the fields and sowing seeds.
河南省鹤壁市政府原常务副市长林鸿嘉被“双开”
hé nán shěng hè bì shì zhèng fǔ yuán cháng wù fù shì cháng lín 鸿 jiā bèi shuāng kāi
Lin Hongjia, former executive vice mayor of Hebi Municipal Government in Henan Province, was "double-opened"
...材料热稳定性难题,让热咖啡、热牛奶不再粘壁
. . . cái liào rè wěn dìng xìng nán tí , ràng rè kā fēi , rè niú nǎi bù zài nián bì
... The problem of thermal stability of the material makes hot coffee and hot milk no longer stick to the wall
DA Davidson因壁板去库存下调Louisiana-Paci...
D A D a v i d s o n yīn bì bǎn qù kù cún xià diào L o u i s i a n a P a c i . . .
DA Davidson downgraded Louisiana-Paci due to siding destocking...
寻马记|能看到86匹灵动骏马的北齐壁画博物馆
xún mǎ jì néng kàn dào 8 6 pǐ líng dòng jùn mǎ de běi qí bì huà bó wù guǎn
The Northern Qi Mural Museum where you can see 86 smart horses
文物日历|2月18日·雨水:井饮图壁画砖
wén wù rì lì 2 yuè 1 8 rì yǔ shuǐ : jǐng yǐn tú bì huà zhuān
Cultural Relics Calendar|February 18, Rainwater: Well Drinking Picture Mural Bricks
我们曾是隔壁邻居。
Wǒmen céng shì gébì línjū.
We used to be neighbours.
她把墙壁都涂成了白色。
Tā bǎ qiángbì dōu tú chéngle báisè.
She painted the walls white.
他们围在壁炉旁边。
Tāmen wéi zài bìlú pángbiān.
They gathered about the fireplace.
墙壁上挂着一个时钟。
Qiángbì shàng guà zhe yī gè shízhōng.
There is a clock on the wall.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 土 (earth) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 壁 (bì) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 壁 and 劈?
How many strokes does 壁 have?
What is the radical of 壁?
What are the components of 壁?
What are common words containing 壁?
What characters sound the same as 壁 (bì)?
Is 壁 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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