坡 (pō): slope; hillside

Meanings

1 slope; hillside
2 incline; gradient

Characters

坡

po

slope; hillside

Examples

这个坡太陡了，骑不上去。

Zhège pō tài dǒu le, qí bú shàngqù.

This slope is too steep to ride up.

车子正在上坡。

Chēzi zhèngzài shàngpō.

The car is going uphill.

小心下坡的时候别摔倒。

Xiǎoxīn xiàpō de shíhòu bié shuāidǎo.

Be careful not to fall when going downhill.

山坡上种满了果树。

Shānpōshàng zhòng mǎn le guǒshù.

The hillside is covered with fruit trees.

Tips

usage

Common compounds: 山坡 (hillside), 上坡 (uphill), 下坡 (downhill), 斜坡 (slope/incline). 坡 carries the earth radical 土, connecting it to terrain.

usage

坡 = 土 (earth) + 皮 (skin/surface). A slope is the 'skin' of the earth — its angled surface.

Components

radical

土 tǔ

earth; soil

Earth radical on the left marks 坡 as a feature of terrain — a slope is fundamentally a tilted piece of earth. Same radical groups the whole landform family: 地 ground, 坂 slope, 城 city wall, 坑 pit, 墙 wall.

phonetic

皮 pí

skin

Right side supplies the sound: pí → pō (vowel and tone drift). 皮's image of skin or hide also gives a faint visual hook — a hillside is the 'skin' of the ground, the surface layer tilted at an angle. Same phonetic anchors 波 wave, 破 break, 婆 grandmother.