verb #10,325

Meanings

  1. 1 to stop; to cease
  2. 2 to dismiss; to remove from office

Examples

HSK 3
Gōngrén men juédìng bàgōng.
The workers decided to go on strike.
HSK 6
Suànle ba.
Forget it.

Tips

usage
罢工 (to strike) and 罢免 (to dismiss) are the most common compounds.
usage
罢了 means 'that's all; nothing more'.

Components

radical
wǎng
net (top-form of 网)
Net radical at the top - the top-form of , the indexing radical. Picture a fishing or hunting net laid flat: the original meaning of was 'a person caught in a net, then released' - to call something off, to dismiss from duty. Same radical caps (crime), (punish), (office).
semantic
to go; to remove
Bottom is 'go away, remove' - a semantic addition reinforcing the dismissal sense. The simplified form replaced the traditional 's lower with this clearer 'net + remove' picture: catch and let go, stop the proceedings, leave off. Together the two halves spell out 'end it.'

Stroke Order