脖 meaning and stroke order
Neck
How to write 脖, stroke by stroke
11 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
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- 11
Meaning of 脖
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- neck
How 脖 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Flesh.
⺼ gives the meaning and 孛 hints at the sound.
Radical: ⺼ (meat), shared by 176 characters on this site.
How to remember 脖
The left part ⺼ is the flesh radical, used for body parts, and the right part 孛 (bó) gives the sound. Think of the neck as the piece of flesh that says bó when you turn your head.
脖 almost never appears alone in modern speech. People say 脖子 (bózi) for neck, and it also shows up in words like 脖颈儿 (bógěngr), the back of the neck. Example: 我脖子有点疼。(Wǒ bózi yǒudiǎn téng.) My neck hurts a bit.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 脖 with 勃 (bó, as in 勃起 or 蓬勃), which shares the same phonetic 孛 and sound but has 力 instead of the flesh radical. If the meaning is about the body part neck, use the one with ⺼ on the left.
Common words with 脖
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 脖子 | bózi | neck | HSK 7-9 |
脖 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 脖
How many strokes are in 脖?
脖 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 脖 mean?
脖 (bó) means neck. A common word with it is 脖子 (bózi), meaning "neck".
How do you pronounce 脖?
脖 is pronounced bó, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 脖?
The radical of 脖 is ⺼, which carries the idea of "meat". Dictionaries list 脖 under this radical.
Is 脖 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 脖 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 脖子 and 颈?
脖子 (bózi) is the everyday spoken word for neck. 颈 (jǐng) is more formal or technical and appears in words like 颈椎 (jǐngzhuī), cervical vertebrae, and 长颈鹿 (chángjǐnglù), giraffe.
Is the 子 in 脖子 pronounced with a tone?
No. In 脖子 the 子 is a neutral tone suffix, so it is said lightly as bózi. Stress stays on the rising tone of bó.