宝

寶
bǎo
noun HSK 5 #2,907

Meanings

  1. 1 treasure
  2. 2 precious
  3. 3 darling

Characters

The traditional form 寶 shows jade (玉) and shells (贝) under a roof (宀) - precious things kept safe at home.

Examples

HSK 1
Zhè shì wǒ de bǎo.
This is my treasure.
HSK 1
Nǐ shì wǒ de bǎo.
You are my darling.
HSK 7-9
Táobǎo shàng shénme dōu yǒu.
You can find everything on Taobao.

Tips

usage
宝 is extremely common in brand names: 淘宝 (Taobao = search for treasure), 支付宝 (Alipay = payment treasure).
culture
The traditional 寶 shows jade (玉), pottery (缶), and shells (贝) under a roof (宀) - precious things stored at home.

Components

radical
宀 mián
roof (radical)
Top roof radical - depicts a peaked roof with a center beam, marking 宝 as something kept inside the home. Same family as 家 home, 安 peace, 守 to guard, 富 wealth. The roof tells you instantly that whatever sits below is sheltered, valued, kept safe.
semantic
玉 yù
jade (semantic)
Bottom 玉 - jade, the supreme imperial treasure. The 1956 simplification kept jade alone as the inner content; traditional 寶 also stacked 缶 pottery and 貝 cowries under the roof. Jade now stands for the whole bundle - a clean compound ideograph of 'treasure under the roof.'

Stroke Order

宝 bǎo