保养 meaning in English
to take good care of (or conserve) one's health; to keep in good repair
Meaning of 保养
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to take good care of (or conserve) one's health
- to keep in good repair
- to maintain
- maintenance
How to use 保养
保养 is used for ongoing care of the body, skin, or machines like cars and equipment. It can be a verb or a noun meaning maintenance. Example: 我的车每半年保养一次。(Wǒ de chē měi bàn nián bǎoyǎng yí cì.) My car gets serviced every six months.
保 (bǎo) means to protect or keep, and 养 (yǎng) means to nourish or raise. Put them together and you get keeping something healthy by feeding and caring for it, whether it is your body or your car.
Common mistake: Learners often use 保养 where 保持 (bǎochí) is needed. 保持 means to keep a state, like 保持安静 (keep quiet), while 保养 means to actively care for or service something. Also note both syllables are third tone, so 保 is said like a second tone in speech.
保养 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
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
养 yǎng · to raise · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Related words
Words that share a character with 保养.
| 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) |
| 营养 | yíngyǎng | nutrition; nourishment |
| 环保 | huánbǎo | environmental protection; environmentally friendly |
| 保密 | bǎomì | to keep sth confidential; to maintain secrecy |
| 保守 | bǎoshǒu | conservative; to guard |
Questions about 保养
What does 保养 mean?
保养 (bǎoyǎng) means "to take good care of (or conserve) one's health; to keep in good repair" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 保养?
保养 is made of 2 characters: 保 (9 strokes), 养 (9 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 保养 an HSK word?
Yes. 保养 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 保养 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 保养 is written 保養.
Can 保养 be used to compliment someone's appearance?
Yes. 你保养得真好 (nǐ bǎoyǎng de zhēn hǎo) means you look young and well cared for. It is a common polite compliment, especially to older people.
What is the difference between 保养 and 修理?
保养 is regular maintenance done to prevent problems. 修理 (xiūlǐ) means to repair something that is already broken.