褓 meaning and stroke order
Swaddling cloth; infancy
How to write 褓, stroke by stroke
14 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
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
Meaning of 褓
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- variant of 褓[bao3]
- used in 襁褓[qiang3 bao3]
- used in 褓姆[bao3 mu3] and 褓母[bao3 mu3]
How 褓 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A cloth 衤 used to protect 保 an infant; 保 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 衤 (cloth), shared by 72 characters on this site.
How to remember 褓
褓 combines the clothing radical 衤 with 保 (bǎo, to protect). Picture a cloth wrapped around a baby to protect it, and 保 also gives you the sound bǎo.
褓 almost never appears alone. You will mainly see it in 襁褓 (qiǎngbǎo), meaning swaddling clothes or, figuratively, infancy. Example: 他在襁褓中就失去了父亲。(Tā zài qiǎngbǎo zhōng jiù shīqù le fùqīn.) He lost his father when he was still an infant.
Common mistake: Learners often write the left side as 礻 (the spirit radical, with one dot) instead of 衤 (the clothing radical, with two dots). Since 褓 is about cloth, it needs the clothing radical 衤.
Questions about 褓
How many strokes are in 褓?
褓 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 褓 mean?
褓 (bǎo) means swaddling cloth; infancy.
How do you pronounce 褓?
褓 is pronounced bǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 褓?
The radical of 褓 is 衤, which carries the idea of "cloth". Dictionaries list 褓 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 褓?
The traditional form of 褓 is 緥. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 褓 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 褓姆 and 保姆?
Both are pronounced bǎomǔ and mean a nanny or domestic helper. 保姆 is the standard everyday form in mainland China, while 褓姆 and 褓母 are older or variant spellings you may see in some texts or in Taiwan.
What does 襁褓 mean when it is used figuratively?
Besides literal baby wrappings, 襁褓 can mean the very early stage of something. For example, 处于襁褓阶段 (chǔyú qiǎngbǎo jiēduàn) describes a project or industry that is still in its infancy.