拍 meaning in English

pāi

to pat; to clap

HSK 3verb8 strokes

Meaning of 拍

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

pāi

to pat
to clap
to slap
to swat
to take (a photo)
to shoot (a film)
racket (sports)
beat (music)

How to use 拍

拍 is a common everyday verb for hitting something with a flat hand, like clapping or patting a shoulder. It is also the normal verb for taking photos and shooting films. Example: 我们在这儿拍张照吧。(Wǒmen zài zhèr pāi zhāng zhào ba.) Let's take a photo here.

拍 has the hand radical 扌 on the left and 白 (bái) on the right. Picture a hand coming down flat to pat or clap, and remember that 白 hints at the sound, bái to pāi.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 拍 (pāi) with 柏 (bǎi, cypress) or 泊 (bó), which share the 白 part but have a different radical. Also keep the first tone: it is pāi, not pài or bái.

拍 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ记jì不bù得de哪nǎ把bǎ球qiú拍pāi是shì我wǒ的de了le。

I can't remember which is my racket.

这zhè些xiē照zhào片piān是shì在zài哪nǎ儿ér拍pāi的de？

Where were these pictures taken at?

这zhè张zhāng照zhào片piān是shì我wǒ在zài上shàng星xīng期qī拍pāi的de。

This is a picture I took last week.

用yòng你nǐ的de手shǒu机jī拍pāi一yī张zhāng照zhào片piān。

Take a picture with your phone.

我wǒ为wèi我wǒ的de家jiā人rén拍pāi了le照zhào片piān。

I took a picture of my family.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

拍 pāi · to pat · 8 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 拍.

拍照	pāizhào	to take a picture
拍摄	pāishè	to take (a picture); to shoot (a film)
球拍	qiúpāi	(tennis, badminton etc) racket; (table tennis) paddle; (cricket) bat
拍卖	pāimài	to auction; auction sale
拍戏	pāixì	to shoot a movie
拍板	pāibǎn	wooden clappers (percussion instrument); to beat time with clappers (for a singer)
拍电影	pāidiànyǐng	to make a movie
拍档	pāidàng	partner
开拍	kāipāi	to begin shooting (a movie, a scene of a movie etc); to start the bidding (auction)
拍拖	pāituō	(dialect) to date sb
拍片	pāipiàn	to shoot a film; to have a medical imaging procedure
偷拍	tōupāi	to photograph or film sb without their knowledge or consent

Questions about 拍

What does 拍 mean?

拍 (pāi) means "to pat; to clap" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 拍?

拍 is made of 1 character: 拍 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.

Is 拍 an HSK word?

Yes. 拍 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How do you say 'clap your hands' in Chinese?

Say 拍手 (pāishǒu), or 鼓掌 (gǔzhǎng) for applauding an audience or performance. Kids' songs often use 拍拍手 (pāi pāi shǒu).

Can 拍 mean a musical beat?

Yes. 拍 can be a beat or measure of time in music, as in 节拍 (jiépāi) rhythm or 一拍 (yì pāi) one beat. 拍子 (pāizi) also means beat or tempo, and can refer to a swatter or racket.