玻

bō
noun #11,108

Meanings

  1. 1 used in 玻璃 (bōli) meaning glass

Examples

HSK 5
Xiǎoxīn bōli!
Watch out for the glass!
HSK 7-9
Bōlibēi suì le.
The glass cup shattered.

Tips

usage
Only used in the word 玻璃 = glass. The 王 (jade) radical hints at a translucent material.

Components

radical
王 wáng
jade (radical form)
Left 王 - on the left side this is the jade radical 玉, the side-form that has lost the bottom dot. Anchors 玻 in the precious-stones family alongside 璃 (forming 玻璃 glass), 珠 (pearl), 玲 (jade tinkle). Glass was treated as an artificial gem when the word was coined, hence the jade radical.
phonetic
皮 pí
skin; leather
Right 皮 supplies the sound - pí to bō through a labial shift, same pattern as 波 (wave) and 颇 (slanting). 玻 is almost never used outside the compound 玻璃 'glass,' a transliteration of Sanskrit sphaṭika (rock crystal) brought in with Buddhism. The 'skin' meaning has no semantic role.

Stroke Order

玻 bō