芭 (bā) · plantain (as in 芭蕉)

Meanings

1 plantain (as in 芭蕉)
2 used in transliterations (e.g. 芭蕾, ballet)

Characters

芭

bā

plantain; used in transliterations

Examples

HSK 7-9

她从小就学芭蕾舞。

Tā cóngxiǎo jiù xué bālěiwǔ.

She has studied ballet since she was little.

HSK 7-9

芭蕉叶又大又绿。

Bājiāo yè yòu dà yòu lǜ.

Plantain leaves are big and green.

Tips

usage

芭 rarely appears alone - it's almost always part of a compound: 芭蕉 plantain, 芭蕾 ballet, or 芭比 Barbie.

memory

The grass radical 艹 on top tells you it's a plant. The bottom 巴 gives the sound bā.

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant (top radical)

Top grass radical (3-stroke compressed form of 艸) - the indexing radical, anchoring 芭 in the botanical family. Used in plant names like 芭蕉 banana plant, 芭蕾 ballet (a phonetic loan from French, where the grass radical signals "imported foreign name" by convention).

phonetic

巴 bā

cling; expect

Bottom 巴 supplies the sound - bā carried over directly. 巴 contributes no transparent meaning; in 芭 it works as a clean phonetic chosen for its sharp open vowel - useful for transliterating foreign syllables. Same phonetic appears in 把 to hold, 爸 dad, 吧 particle, 疤 scar.