bào
noun #6,154

Meanings

  1. 1 abalone
  2. 2 surname Bao

Examples

HSK 1
Bào xiānshēng 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, most commonly appears as a surname. For the seafood meaning, 鲍鱼 (abalone) is the standard word.

Components

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

Stroke Order

bào