坡 (pō) · slope; hillside

Meanings

1 slope; hillside
2 incline; gradient

Characters

坡

pō

slope; hillside

Examples

HSK 3

车子正在上坡。

Chēzi zhèngzài shàngpō.

The car is going uphill.

HSK 5

小心下坡的时候别摔倒。

Xiǎoxīn xiàpō de shíhou bié shuāidǎo.

Be careful not to fall when going downhill.

HSK 7-9

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.

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.