暴 meaning and stroke order
Violent, brutal, tyrannical
How to write 暴, 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 暴
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- sudden
- violent
- cruel
- to show or expose
- to injure
- variant of 曝[pu4]
How 暴 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A man with head 日 and hands 共 tormenting a deer 水.
Radical: 日 (sun), shared by 116 characters on this site.
How to remember 暴
Picture a man with a head 日 on top, hands 共 in the middle, and a deer 水 at the bottom that he is tormenting. That cruel scene gives 暴 (bào) its sense of violent and brutal.
暴 (bào) appears mostly in compound words about violence, sudden force, or exposure, such as 暴力 (bàolì) violence and 暴雨 (bàoyǔ) torrential rain. It can also mean sudden or extreme, as in 暴利 (bàolì) sudden huge profits. Example: 今天下了一场暴雨。(Jīntiān xià le yì chǎng bàoyǔ.) There was a heavy rainstorm today.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 暴 with 爆 (bào, to explode), which has the fire radical 火 on the left. Use 暴 for violence and storms, as in 暴力, and 爆 for bursting or exploding, as in 爆炸 (bàozhà).
Common words with 暴
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 暴力 | bàolì | violence; force | HSK 6 |
| 暴露 | bàolù | to expose; to reveal | HSK 6 |
| 风暴 | fēngbào | storm; violent commotion | HSK 6 |
| 暴风雨 | bàofēngyǔ | rainstorm; storm | HSK 6 |
| 暴雨 | bàoyǔ | torrential rain; rainstorm | HSK 6 |
| 暴躁 | bàozào | irascible; irritable | HSK 7-9 |
| 粗暴 | cūbào | crude; crass; rude; rough; harsh | HSK 7-9 |
| 暴利 | bàolì | sudden huge profits | HSK 7-9 |
| 火暴 | huǒbào | variant of 火爆[huo3 bao4] | HSK 7-9 |
| 暴风骤雨 | bàofēng-zhòuyǔ | violent wind and rainstorm; hurricane | HSK 7-9 |
| 强暴 | qiángbào | violent; to rape | |
| 暴徒 | bàotú | bandit; thug | |
| 暴动 | bàodòng | insurrection; rebellion | |
| 暴君 | bàojūn | tyrant; despot |
暴 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 暴
Learning 暴 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 暴
How many strokes are in 暴?
暴 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 暴 mean?
暴 (bào) means violent, brutal, tyrannical. A common word with it is 暴力 (bàolì), meaning "violence; force".
How do you pronounce 暴?
暴 is pronounced bào, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 暴?
The radical of 暴 is 日, which carries the idea of "sun". Dictionaries list 暴 under this radical.
Is 暴 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 暴 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why are 暴力 (violence) and 暴利 (huge profits) both pronounced bàolì?
They are two different words that happen to share the same pronunciation and tone. 力 (lì) means force, while 利 (lì) means profit. Context usually makes the meaning clear.
Is 暴 ever pronounced pù?
Yes. In older or literary use, 暴 can be read pù as a variant of 曝 (pù), meaning to expose to the sun. In modern everyday Chinese you will almost always read it as bào.