八 (bā): eight

Meanings

1 eight
2 8

Characters

八

bā

eight

Examples

我有八个苹果。

Wǒ yǒu bā gè píngguǒ.

I have eight apples.

现在八点了。

Xiànzài bā diǎn le.

It's eight o'clock now.

Tips

culture

八 is the luckiest number in Chinese culture because it sounds like 发 in 发财 (to get rich). Phone numbers and license plates with 八 sell for premium prices. The Beijing Olympics opened on 08/08/08 at 8:08:08 PM.

memory

The character 八 looks like two lines splitting apart — think of it as splitting something into eight pieces.

Components

ideograph

八 bā

eight; (originally) to divide

Abstract ideograph — two strokes splaying outward from a centre, originally picturing division or splitting (a thing parted in two). The eight meaning is a phonetic loan that displaced the original sense, which lives on as Kangxi radical #12. As a radical, 八 still indexes division-and-apportionment characters: 公 (public), 共 (together), 分 (divide), 兵 (soldier).