魄 (pò): (literary) soul, mortal soul (i.e. attached to the body)
魄 (pò) is a Chinese character meaning “(literary) soul.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 白 (phonetic) and 鬼 (semantic). It ranks #2425 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 魄 spirit. Its radical form 鬼 (ghost) appears in many related characters such as 鬼 (guǐ, disembodied spirit), 魁 (kuí, chief), 魂 (hún, soul).
Definitions
- (literary) soul
- mortal soul (i.e. attached to the body)
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 魄 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 魂魄 | hún pò | soul |
| 魄力 | pò lì | courage |
| 惊心动魄 | jīng xīn dòng pò | (idiom) heart-stopping |
| 气魄 | qì pò | spirit |
| 魂飞魄散 | hún fēi pò sàn | lit. the soul flies away and scatters (idiom) |
| 体魄 | tǐ pò | physique |
| 动人心魄 | dòng rén xīn pò | (idiom) breathtaking |
| 动魄惊心 | dòng pò jīng xīn | see 驚心動魄|惊心动魄[jing1 xin1 dong4 po4] |
| 三魂七魄 | sān hún qī pò | three immortal souls and seven mortal forms in Daoism, contrasting the spiritual and carnal side of man |
| 失魂落魄 | shī hún luò pò | (idiom) dazed |
| 动魄 | dòng pò | shocking |
| 丧魂失魄 | sàng hún shī pò | (idiom) out of one's senses |
| 丧魂落魄 | sàng hún luò pò | scared out of one's wits (idiom) |
| 丢魂落魄 | diū hún luò pò | see 失魂落魄[shi1 hun2 luo4 po4] |
| 落魄 | luò pò | down and out |
魄 appears in 20 compound words: 5 as the first character, 85 as the last, and 10 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 魄 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
to be frightened stiff; to be spooked out of one's mind; to be terror-stricken
to be frightened stiff; to be spooked out of one's mind; to be terror-stricken
Example Sentences
这个魄字在古汉语中有不同的含义。
zhè gě pò zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .
The character "魄" carries different meanings in classical Chinese.
...$47万活捉机师 美战机遭击落触发惊心动魄拯救战
. . . 4 7 wàn huó zhuō jī shī měi zhàn jī zāo jī luò chù fā jīng xīn dòng pò zhěng jiù zhàn
...救援、悬红捉机师 美战机遭击落触发惊心动魄搜救战
. . . jiù yuán , xuán hóng zhuō jī shī měi zhàn jī zāo jī luò chù fā jīng xīn dòng pò sōu jiù zhàn
正论:火灾动魄惊心 部门优劣立见
zhèng lùn : huǒ zāi dòng pò jīng xīn bù mén yōu liè lì jiàn
Editorial: A Fire That Shakes the Soul; The Strengths and Weaknesses of Government Agencies Are Immediately Apparent
她莞尔一笑，动人心魄。
Tā wǎn'ěryīxiào, dòngrénxīnpò.
She smiles, very moving.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 魄 (pò) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 魄 and 怕?
How many strokes does 魄 have?
What is the radical of 魄?
What are the components of 魄?
What are common words containing 魄?
What characters sound the same as 魄 (pò)?
Is 魄 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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