壩 meaning and stroke order
Embankment; dam
How to write 壩, stroke by stroke
24 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 壩
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- dam
- dike; embankment
How 壩 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Earth.
土 gives the meaning and 霸 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 壩
壩 (bà) puts 土 (earth) next to 霸 (bà, tyrant). Picture a mighty wall of earth that rules over the river and forces the water to stop.
壩 is the traditional form, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, while mainland China writes 坝. It mostly appears in compounds like 水壩 (shuǐbà) and 大壩 (dàbà). Example: 三峽大壩很有名。(Sānxiá dàbà hěn yǒumíng.) The Three Gorges Dam is very famous.
Common mistake: Learners often drop the 土 and write only 霸 (bà), which means tyrant or to dominate, not dam. Both are fourth tone, so the earth radical is the only thing that tells them apart.
Common words with 壩
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 壩
How many strokes are in 壩?
壩 is written with 24 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 壩 mean?
壩 (bà) means embankment; dam. A common word with it is 堤坝 (dībà), meaning "dam; dike".
How do you pronounce 壩?
壩 is pronounced bà, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 壩?
The radical of 壩 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 壩 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 壩?
壩 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 坝, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 堤 (dī) and 壩 (bà)?
堤 usually means a long embankment or levee running along a river or coast. 壩 is usually a barrier built across the water to hold it back, like a dam. Together, 堤壩 is a general word for both kinds of structure.
Can 壩 appear in place names?
Yes. In southwestern China, 壩 or 壩子 (bàzi) can also mean a flat area of land, and it shows up in many local place names. In everyday standard use, though, it most often means a dam.