Meaning of 保
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to defend; to protect; to keep
- to guarantee; to ensure
- (old) civil administration unit in the baojia 保甲[bao3 jia3] system
- Bulgaria (abbr. for 保加利亞|保加利亚[Bao3 jia1 li4 ya4])
How to use 保
保 is rarely used alone in modern speech. It usually appears in compounds like 保护 (bǎohù, to protect), 保持 (bǎochí, to maintain), and 保证 (bǎozhèng, to guarantee). Example: 我们要保护环境。(Wǒmen yào bǎohù huánjìng.) We need to protect the environment.
保 (bǎo) has a person 亻 on the left standing beside 呆 on the right. Picture the person standing guard next to someone, keeping them safe.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 保 (bǎo) with 宝 (bǎo, treasure) because they sound the same. Remember that 保 has the person radical 亻 and is a verb about protecting, while 宝 has the roof 宀 and is a noun for something precious.
保 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
保 bǎo · to defend · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 保.
| 保护 | bǎohù | to protect; to defend |
| 保证 | bǎozhèng | guarantee; to guarantee |
| 保持 | bǎochí | to keep; to maintain |
| 确保 | quèbǎo | to ensure; to guarantee |
| 保安 | bǎo'ān | to ensure public security; to ensure safety (for workers engaged in production) |
| 保险 | bǎoxiǎn | insurance; to insure |
| 保留 | bǎoliú | to keep; to retain |
| 保存 | bǎocún | to conserve; to preserve; to keep; to store; (computing) to save (a file etc) |
| 环保 | huánbǎo | environmental protection; environmentally friendly |
| 保密 | bǎomì | to keep sth confidential; to maintain secrecy |
| 保守 | bǎoshǒu | conservative; to guard |
| 担保 | dānbǎo | to guarantee; to vouch for |
Questions about 保
What does 保 mean?
保 (bǎo) means "to defend; to protect; to keep; to guarantee; to ensure" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 保?
保 is made of 1 character: 保 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 保 an HSK word?
Yes. 保 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 保护 and 保持?
保护 (bǎohù) means to protect something from harm, like 保护孩子 (protect children). 保持 (bǎochí) means to keep something in the same state, like 保持安静 (stay quiet).
Why does 保 sometimes refer to Bulgaria?
保 is used as a short form of 保加利亚 (Bǎojiālìyà), the Chinese name for Bulgaria. You may see it in news headlines or lists of countries, where it is capitalized as Bǎo in pinyin.