HSK 3 · Function Words

把 bǎ “pretransitive particle” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 把 means

  1. pretransitive particle
  2. to hold
  3. to grasp
  4. to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate
  5. handlebar
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • classifier: handful, bundle, bunch
  • classifier for things with handles
  • (used to put the object before the verb: 把 + {noun} + {verb})

How to say 把

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale把bǎ3rd tone, dipping

把 in a sentence

  1. 我觉得我把钥匙丢了。

    Wǒ juéde wǒ bǎ yàoshi diū le.

    I think I’ve lost my keys.

    Sentence #7774788 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 他把牛奶倒到杯子里了。

    Tā bǎ niúnǎi dào dào bēizi lǐ le.

    He poured the milk into the cup.

    Sentence #8696293 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 把 is also a measure word for things with a handle or back, like chairs and umbrellas

    这把椅子很舒服。

    Zhè bǎ yǐzi hěn shūfu.

    This chair is very comfortable.

    Sentence #1157271 from Tatoeba

How 把 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 把 (bǎ) with each of its parts in a different colour
把bǎto hold; to grasp
  • 扌hand form of 手 · shǒuMeaning part
  • 巴to desire · bāSound part

扌 hints at the meaning (hand); 巴 (bā) hints at the sound. Compare it with bǎ.

How to write 把

把 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

把 (bǎ) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it
Stroke order chart for 把 (bǎ). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 把

Words with 把

把握bǎwò · to grasp (also fig.)把关bǎguān · to check (quality)把手bǎshou · handle

More words: Particles & Connectors

往wǎng · to go (in a direction)一下yíxià · (after a verb) briefly着zhe · particle for an ongoing action or state (-ing)啊a · ah被bèi · by比较bǐjiào · compare比赛bǐsài · sports match不但búdàn · not only

FAQs

把 (bǎ) means “pretransitive particle” or “to hold”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it bǎ: bǎ with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 把 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type ba with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 把 from the suggestions. Typing ba into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
把 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.