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背

bèi / bēi
noun HSK 2 #1,395

Meanings

  1. 1 back (of a body or object)
  2. 2 to turn one's back
  3. 3 to recite from memory
  4. 4 to go against; to violate
  5. 5 unlucky
  6. 6 hard of hearing

Examples

你要背这篇课文。
Nǐ yào bèi zhè piān kèwén.
You need to recite this text.
我今天背很痛。
Wǒ jīntiān bèi hěn tòng.
My back really hurts today.
爷爷耳朵有点背，说大声点。
Yéye ěrduo yǒudiǎn bèi, shuō dàshēng diǎn.
Grandpa is a little hard of hearing — speak louder.

Tips

usage
Fourth-tone 背 is the noun 'back' (body or object) plus a family of verbs that radiate from it: turn-one's-back-on (背叛), go-against (违背), and recite (背诵 — students traditionally faced away from the teacher to recite). The slang senses 'unlucky' and 'hard of hearing' are also fourth tone.
culture
背书 literally 'recite-book' is a defining ritual of Chinese schooling: students memorise classical poems and textbook passages word-for-word. The same word now also means 'to endorse' (sign one's name on the back) in finance and politics.

Components

radical
⺼ ròu
flesh; body
Bottom ⺼ is the flesh radical (a variant of 肉), visually identical to the moon character but semantically a body marker. Groups 背 with the anatomy family: 胸, 腰, 肩, 肚.
phonetic
北 běi
north; back-to-back
Top 北 supplies the sound (běi shifts to bèi here) and the original picture: two people standing back-to-back. Hence 背 literally names 'the body part that 北 depicts' — your back.

Stroke Order

背 bèi