TraceHanzi

撥 meaning and stroke order

bō

To stir, to move, to distribute, to allocate

15 strokesRadical 扌Simplified 拨
Strokes15
Pinyinbō
ToneTone 1
Frequency#4,293
Printable worksheet

How to write 撥, stroke by stroke

15 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 撥

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

bōfirst tone (high and level)
  1. to push aside with the hand, foot, a stick etc
  2. to dial
  3. to allocate
  4. to set aside (money)
  5. to poke (the fire)
  6. to pluck (a string instrument)

How 撥 is built

Ideographic (compound meaning) character. To dispatch 發 goods by hand 扌.

shǒuhand+fāto issue

Radical: 扌 (hand), shared by 342 characters on this site.

How to remember 撥

Picture a hand 扌 sending out 發 (fā, to send out) goods: you push things along with your hand to dispatch them. That hand-push idea covers stirring, dialing, and handing out funds.

撥 is the traditional form; mainland China writes it 拨. It appears in words about phones, like 撥打 (bōdǎ, to dial), and money, like 撥款 (bōkuǎn, to allocate funds). Example: 請撥打這個號碼。(Qǐng bōdǎ zhège hàomǎ.) Please dial this number.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 撥 (bō) with 潑 (pō, to splash), which has the water radical 氵 instead of the hand 扌 and a different initial sound. Remember: hand for pushing, water for splashing.

Common words with 撥

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
撥打bōdǎto call; to dialHSK 6
撥款bōkuǎnto allocate funds; appropriationHSK 7-9
撥通bōtōngto get through to sb on the phoneHSK 7-9
撥號bōhàoto dial a telephone number
挑撥tiǎobōto incite disharmony; to instigate
土撥鼠tǔbōshǔ(zoology) marmot (in the US, esp. groundhog or woodchuck)

Questions about 撥

How many strokes are in 撥?

撥 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 撥 mean?

撥 (bō) means to stir, to move, to distribute, to allocate. A common word with it is 拨打 (bōdǎ), meaning "to call; to dial".

How do you pronounce 撥?

撥 is pronounced bō, in the first tone (high and level).

What is the radical of 撥?

The radical of 撥 is 扌, which carries the idea of "hand". Dictionaries list 撥 under this radical.

What is the simplified form of 撥?

撥 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 拨, used in mainland China and Singapore.

Why does 撥 mean to dial a phone?

Old rotary phones were dialed by pushing the dial around with a finger, a hand motion that matches the core meaning of pushing aside. The word stuck, so 撥號 (bōhào) and 撥通 (bōtōng) are still used for modern phones.

What does 挑撥 (tiǎobō) mean?

It means to stir up trouble between people, to sow discord. It is negative, as in 挑撥離間 (tiǎobō líjiàn), to drive a wedge between people.