noun #5,152

Meanings

  1. 1 amber

Examples

Hǔpò shì yī zhǒng zhēnguì de bǎoshí.
Amber is a precious gemstone.
Zhèkuài pò lǐ yǒu yī zhī xiǎo chóngzi.
There is a small insect inside this piece of amber.

Tips

usage
almost always appears in the compound 琥珀 (hǔpò, amber). Rarely used alone except in names or literary contexts.
memory
(jade radical) + (white) = a white jade-like gem = amber.

Components

radical
jade (radical form)
Left side is the jade radical — the side-form of with its dot dropped. As a radical, this shape always means jade, never king. Marks as a precious stone. Same jade-family: agate, precious, pearl, glass, jade carving (琥珀 amber).
phonetic
bái
white
Right side supplies the sound — bái → pò, drifting through the Old Chinese b/p alternation that links many -phonetic characters. Faint semantic hint: amber's translucent honey-gold can shade toward pale or milky. Most often seen in 琥珀 (hǔpò, amber). Same phonetic in clap, fear, uncle, moor, handkerchief.

Stroke Order