胞 meaning and stroke order
Womb, placenta, fetal membrane
How to write 胞, 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.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Meaning of 胞
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- placenta
- womb
- born of the same parents
How 胞 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Flesh.
⺼ gives the meaning and 包 hints at the sound.
Radical: ⺼ (meat), shared by 176 characters on this site.
How to remember 胞
胞 combines the flesh radical ⺼ with 包 (bāo, to wrap). Think of flesh that wraps around a baby, the womb or fetal membrane, and 包 also gives the sound bāo.
Today 胞 rarely appears alone. It shows up in words like 细胞 (xìbāo, cell), 同胞 (tóngbāo, compatriot or sibling) and 双胞胎 (shuāngbāotāi, twins). Example: 她们是双胞胎。(Tāmen shì shuāngbāotāi.) They are twins.
Common mistake: Learners often write 包 (bāo) or 饱 (bǎo, full) instead of 胞, since they share the same sound component. Remember that 胞 needs the flesh radical ⺼ because it is about the body.
Common words with 胞
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
胞 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 胞
How many strokes are in 胞?
胞 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 胞 mean?
胞 (bāo) means womb, placenta, fetal membrane. A common word with it is 细胞 (xìbāo), meaning "cell (biology)".
How do you pronounce 胞?
胞 is pronounced bāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 胞?
The radical of 胞 is ⺼, which carries the idea of "meat". Dictionaries list 胞 under this radical.
Is 胞 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 胞 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 同胞 mean both sibling and compatriot?
Literally 同胞 means born of the same womb, so it first meant siblings from the same parents. By extension it is used for people of the same nation, as in 台湾同胞 (Táiwān tóngbāo, compatriots in Taiwan).
How do I say twins, triplets and so on with 胞?
Put a number before 胞胎 (bāotāi). 双胞胎 (shuāngbāotāi) is twins and 三胞胎 (sānbāotāi) is triplets. The same pattern works for larger numbers, such as 四胞胎 (sìbāotāi) for quadruplets.