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博

bó
adjective #3,542

Meanings

  1. 1 abundant; plentiful; rich
  2. 2 to win; to gain
  3. 3 learned; erudite

Examples

HSK 2
他博学多才。
Tā bóxué-duōcái.
He is learned and talented.
HSK 7-9
博物馆里有很多古代文物。
Bówùguǎn lǐ yǒu hěnduō gǔdài wénwù.
The museum has many ancient artifacts.
HSK 7-9
这篇文章博得了大家的好评。
Zhè piān wénzhāng bódé le dàjiā de hǎopíng.
This article won everyone's praise.

Tips

usage
博 appears in many common compounds: 博物馆 (museum), 博士 (PhD/doctor), 博客 (blog), 赌博 (to gamble).
memory
The 十 (ten) on top suggests 'many' - someone who knows ten things is learned and abundant in knowledge.

Components

radical
十 shí
ten; many
Left 十 - the indexing radical. Originally a vertical stroke with a knot or beam-mark, used as the symbol for 'ten' and by extension 'complete, all, many.' Here it carries the 'broad, abundant' sense in 博: ten covers the full set, hence wide-ranging knowledge.
phonetic
尃 fū
to spread out; phonetic element
Right 尃 supplies the sound (fū → bó, a regular labial alternation in the same phonetic family). 尃 itself depicts a hand (寸) spreading something (甫). The original sense 'spread wide' resonates with 博's 'broad, ample, extensive.' Same phonetic in 搏 bó (struggle), 薄 báo/bó (thin), 缚 fù (bind).

Stroke Order

博 bó