勃 meaning and stroke order
Thriving, prosperous; sudden, quick
How to write 勃, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 勃
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- flourishing
- prosperous
- suddenly
- abruptly
How 勃 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Strength.
力 gives the meaning and 孛 hints at the sound.
Radical: 力 (strength), shared by 44 characters on this site.
How to remember 勃
勃 is built from 孛 (bèi), which gives the sound, and 力 (lì, strength), which gives the meaning. Picture a plant bursting up with sudden strength 力 to remember "thriving" and "sudden."
勃 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese and mostly appears in set words like 蓬勃 (péngbó, flourishing) and idioms like 雄心勃勃 (xióngxīnbóbó, very ambitious). Example: 这个城市发展得很蓬勃。(Zhège chéngshì fāzhǎn de hěn péngbó.) This city is developing vigorously.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 勃 with 脖 (bó, neck), which shares the same 孛 part and sound but has 月 on the left instead of 力 on the right. Also note that 野心勃勃 sounds negative (greedy ambition) while 雄心勃勃 is usually positive.
Common words with 勃
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
勃 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 勃
Learning 勃 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 勃
How many strokes are in 勃?
勃 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 勃 mean?
勃 (bó) means thriving, prosperous; sudden, quick. A common word with it is 蓬勃 (péngbó), meaning "vigorous; flourishing; full of vitality".
How do you pronounce 勃?
勃 is pronounced bó, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 勃?
The radical of 勃 is 力, which carries the idea of "strength". Dictionaries list 勃 under this radical.
Is 勃 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 勃 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 勃起 (bóqǐ) safe to use in everyday conversation?
勃起 means a physical erection, so it is a medical or sexual term. Avoid it when you just mean "rising up" or "thriving." Use 蓬勃 or 兴起 (xīngqǐ) instead.
What does the doubled form 勃勃 mean?
勃勃 describes something full of energy or strongly present, and it follows a noun in idioms such as 生机勃勃 (shēngjī bóbó, full of life) and 兴致勃勃 (xìngzhì bóbó, in high spirits). It is not used on its own as a verb.