鲍

鮑
bào
noun #6,154

Meanings

  1. 1 abalone
  2. 2 surname Bao

Examples

HSK 1
Bào xiānsheng shì wǒmen de lǎoshī.
Mr. Bao is our teacher.
HSK 7-9
Bàoyú shì yī dào míngguì de cài.
Abalone is an expensive dish.

Tips

usage
As a standalone character, 鲍 most commonly appears as a surname. For the seafood meaning, 鲍鱼 (abalone) is the standard word.

Components

radical
鱼 yú
fish
Left fish radical - pictograph of a fish: head on top, body and scales in the middle (田 grid), tail at the bottom (originally four flame-like strokes, simplified to a horizontal). Anchors 鲍 as a sea creature. Family: 鲨 (shark), 鳄 (crocodile), 鲜 (fresh fish), 鳕 (cod).
phonetic
包 bāo
to wrap (here phonetic)
Right 包 supplies the sound - bāo drifted to bào with a tone shift. Same phonetic in 抱 (hug), 跑 (run), 炮 (cannon), 饱 (full). 包 itself depicts a fetus wrapped in a womb. Pure phonetic role here; abalone is one of many bao-family chars.

Stroke Order

鲍 bào