HSK 3.0 Level 2 · Everyday Verbs
跑 pǎo “to run” in Chinese
Same in Traditional
What 跑 means
- to run
- to run away
- to escape
- to run around (on errands etc)
- (of a gas or liquid) to leak or evaporate
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
- (verb complement) away
How to say 跑
跑pǎo3rd tone, dipping
跑 in a sentence
How 跑 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.

跑pǎoto run
- 足foot · zúMeaning part
- 包wrap · bāoSound part
足 hints at the meaning (foot); 包 (bāo) hints at the sound. Compare it with pǎo.
How to write 跑
跑 12 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

Words related to 跑
Words with 跑
More words: Everyday Verbs
FAQs
跑 (pǎo) means “to run” or “to run away”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 2 word.
Say it pǎo: pǎo with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 跑 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type pao with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 跑 from the suggestions. Typing pao into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
跑 is an HSK 3.0 Level 2 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 2 word list. It is not on the older HSK 2.0 word lists.
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.