Meaning of 宝
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- jewel
- gem
- treasure
- precious
- variant of 寶|宝[bao3]
How to use 宝
宝 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It usually appears in words like 宝贵 (bǎoguì, precious), 宝石 (bǎoshí, gem) and 宝宝 (bǎobao, baby). Example: 时间很宝贵。 (Shíjiān hěn bǎoguì.) Time is precious.
宝 (bǎo) puts 玉 (yù, jade) under the roof 宀. Picture a piece of jade kept safe inside the house. That is your treasure.
Common mistake: Learners often write 王 instead of 玉 under the roof and forget the small dot. That gives the wrong character 宝 without its jade. Some also mix up 宝 (bǎo) with 保 (bǎo, to protect), which sounds the same but has the person radical 亻.
宝 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.
宝 bǎo · jewel · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 宝.
| 宝贝 | bǎobèi | treasured object; treasure |
| 宝宝 | bǎobao | darling; baby |
| 宝贵 | bǎoguì | valuable; precious |
| 宝石 | bǎoshí | precious stone; gem |
| 珠宝 | zhūbǎo | pearls; jewels |
| 宝藏 | bǎozàng | precious mineral deposits; hidden treasure |
| 国宝 | guóbǎo | national treasure |
| 宝库 | bǎokù | treasure-house; treasury |
| 瑰宝 | guībǎo | a treasure; a rare and valuable thing |
| 宝贝儿 | bǎobèir | erhua variant of 寶貝|宝贝[bao3 bei4] |
| 宝物 | bǎowù | treasure |
| 财宝 | cáibǎo | money and valuables |
Questions about 宝
What does 宝 mean?
宝 (bǎo) means "jewel; gem" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 宝?
宝 is made of 1 character: 宝 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 宝 an HSK word?
Yes. 宝 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 宝 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 宝 is written 寶.
What is the difference between 宝贝 and 宝宝?
宝宝 (bǎobao) mostly means a baby or small child, and parents use it as a pet name. 宝贝 (bǎobèi) can mean a treasured object, and it is also a common affectionate name for a child or a romantic partner.
Can I use 宝 by itself to mean treasure?
In everyday Chinese it is more natural to use a two-character word such as 宝贝 or 宝藏 (bǎozàng). 宝 alone shows up mainly in set phrases, names, and online slang where people call someone 宝 as a cute nickname.