刨 meaning and stroke order
To dig; to excavate; (coll.) to exclude
How to write 刨, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Meaning of 刨
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to dig
- to excavate
- (coll.) to exclude
- not to count
- to deduct
- to subtract
- carpenter's plane
- to plane (woodwork)
- to shave off
- to peel (with a potato peeler etc)
- variant of 刨[bao4]
How 刨 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Knife.
刂 gives the meaning and 包 hints at the sound.
Radical: 刂 (knife), shared by 71 characters on this site.
How to remember 刨
刨 combines 包 (bāo), which gives the sound, with the knife radical 刂 on the right. Picture a blade shaving a block of wood so the curls wrap up like a little package 包.
Read páo, 刨 means to dig, as in 刨土 (páo tǔ, dig up soil). In speech it can also mean to leave something out of a count. Read bào, it means to plane wood or to peel, as in 刨子 (bàozi, a carpenter's plane) and 刨冰 (bàobīng, shaved ice). Example: 他在院子里刨了一个坑。(Tā zài yuànzi lǐ páo le yí ge kēng.) He dug a hole in the yard.
Common mistake: Learners often use one reading for every meaning. Digging is páo, while planing, peeling and shaving are bào, so 刨冰 is bàobīng, not páobīng. Also do not confuse 刨 with 抱 (bào, to hug) or 跑 (pǎo, to run), which share 包 but have different radicals.
Questions about 刨
How many strokes are in 刨?
刨 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 刨 mean?
刨 (páo) means to dig; to excavate; (coll.) to exclude.
How do you pronounce 刨?
刨 is pronounced páo, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 刨?
The radical of 刨 is 刂, which carries the idea of "knife". Dictionaries list 刨 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 刨?
The traditional form of 刨 is 鑤. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 刨 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 刨 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 刨 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 刨去 or 刨除 mean in everyday speech?
Read páo, 刨去 (páoqù) and 刨除 (páochú) mean to deduct or not count something. For example, 刨去房租，我每月剩两千 means after rent I have two thousand left each month.
How do you say potato peeler with 刨?
A common word is 削皮刀 (xiāopídāo), but 刨 (bào) can describe the action, as in 刨土豆皮 (bào tǔdòu pí), to peel potatoes with a peeler. In this peeling sense the reading is always bào.