adjective

Meanings

  1. 1 vast and majestic (in 磅礴)
  2. 2 to surge against; to fill

Examples

HSK 7-9
Zhàn zài shānjiǎo xià, néng gǎnshòudào qìshì-pángbó de lìliàng.
Standing at the foot of the mountain, you feel its grand, majestic power.
HSK 7-9
Zhè shǒu jiāoxiǎngyuè qìshì-pángbó, lìngrén zhènhàn.
This symphony is vast and powerful, deeply moving.
HSK 7-9
大河磅礴
Dàhé pángbó dōng qù.
The mighty river rolls grandly eastward.

Tips

usage
Used only in 磅礴 ('boundless, majestic'), nearly always in the set phrase 气势磅礴 ('of grand, imposing momentum'). It describes mountains, rivers, music, and writing of overwhelming scale.

Components

radical
shí
stone; rock
The stone radical on the left lends weight and solidity, fitting for a word describing the massive, rock-like grandeur of mountains and surging water.
phonetic
báo
thin; to press near
Supplies the sound on the right: in its bó reading gives the pronunciation. Its sense of 'pressing close, surging against' also faintly suits the idea of an overwhelming force.

Stroke Order