HSK 6 · Verbs

保管 bǎoguǎn “to look after” in Chinese

Said as báoguǎn

Same in Traditional

What 保管 means

  1. to look after
  2. to keep safe
  3. certainly
  4. to hold in safekeeping
  5. to have in one’s care
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • to guarantee
  • surely
  • custodian
  • curator

How to say 保管

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale保bǎo3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale管guǎn3rd tone, dipping

Said as báoguǎn. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. How tone changes work

保管 in a sentence

  1. 你可以保管这个行李直到下午三点吗？

    Nǐ kěyǐ bǎoguǎn zhè ge xíngli zhídào xiàwǔ sān diǎn ma?

    Could you look after this luggage until 3 pm?

    Sentence #5401617 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 至于该文件，我在保管。

    Zhìyú gāi wénjiàn, wǒ zài bǎoguǎn.

    As for the documents, I’m keeping them safe.

    Sentence #2032208 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我妥善保管原版拷贝。

    Wǒ tuǒshàn bǎoguǎn yuánbǎn kǎobèi.

    I keep the original copy somewhere safe.

    Sentence #934179 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 保管 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 保 (bǎo) with each of its parts in a different colour
保bǎoto defend; to protect; to keep
  • 亻person form of 人 · rénMeaning part
  • 呆dull · dāiSound part

亻 hints at the meaning (person); 呆 (dāi) hints at the sound. Compare it with bǎo.

The character 管 (guǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
管guǎnto take care
  • ⺮bamboo form of 竹 · zhúMeaning part
  • 官official · guānSound part

⺮ hints at the meaning (bamboo); 官 (guān) hints at the sound. Compare it with guǎn.

How to write 保管

保 9 strokes · 管 14 strokes

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

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

Words related to 保管

Words with 保

保证bǎozhèng · guarantee保护bǎohù · to protect保留bǎoliú · to keep保持bǎochí · to keep保存bǎocún · to conserve保险bǎoxiǎn · insurance保养bǎoyǎng · to take care of (one’s health)保重bǎozhòng · to take care of oneself保密bǎomì · to keep something secret确保quèbǎo · to ensure

Words with 管

管guǎn · to manage不管bùguǎn · not to be concerned管理guǎnlǐ · to supervise尽管jǐnguǎn · despite管子guǎnzi · tube主管zhǔguǎn · person in charge管辖guǎnxiá · to have jurisdiction over

More words: Common Verbs

报仇bàochóu · to take revenge报答bàodá · to repay (a kindness)爆发bàofā · to break out报复bàofu · to retaliate暴露bàolù · to expose包围bāowéi · to surround爆炸bàozhà · to explode背叛bèipàn · to betray

FAQs

保管 (bǎoguǎn) means “to look after” or “to keep safe”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it bǎoguǎn: bǎo with a 3rd tone, then guǎn with a 3rd tone. In speech it sounds like báoguǎn. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 保管 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type baoguan with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 保管 from the suggestions. Typing baoguan into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
保管 is an HSK 6 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.