Meaning of 珠宝
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- pearls
- jewels
- precious stones
How to use 珠宝
珠宝 is a general, somewhat formal noun for jewelry and precious gems. You see it in shop names, ads, and news, often as 珠宝店 (zhūbǎo diàn, jewelry store). Example: 她很喜欢买珠宝。(Tā hěn xǐhuan mǎi zhūbǎo.) She really likes buying jewelry.
珠 (zhū) has the jade radical 王 on the left, so think of a round jade-like bead or pearl. 宝 (bǎo) shows jade 玉 under a roof 宀, a treasure kept safe at home, so pearls plus treasure gives you jewelry.
Common mistake: Learners often write 珠 with the wrong right side or confuse it with 株 (zhū, a tree or plant measure word), which has 木 instead of 王. Also keep the tones right: zhū is first tone and bǎo is third tone.
珠宝 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.
珠 zhū · gem · 10 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
宝 bǎo · jewel · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 珠宝.
| 宝贝 | bǎobèi | treasured object; treasure |
| 宝宝 | bǎobao | darling; baby |
| 宝贵 | bǎoguì | valuable; precious |
| 宝石 | bǎoshí | precious stone; gem |
| 珍珠 | zhēnzhū | pearl (CL:顆|颗[ke1],粒[li4]); (fig.) teardrop; tear |
| 圆珠笔 | yuánzhūbǐ | ballpoint pen |
| 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 |
Questions about 珠宝
What does 珠宝 mean?
珠宝 (zhūbǎo) means "pearls; jewels" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 珠宝?
珠宝 is made of 2 characters: 珠 (10 strokes), 宝 (8 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 珠宝 an HSK word?
Yes. 珠宝 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 珠宝 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 珠宝 is written 珠寶.
Is 珠宝 the same as 首饰?
Not exactly. 首饰 (shǒushi) means wearable accessories like rings and necklaces, which may be cheap. 珠宝 stresses precious materials like pearls and gems, so it sounds more valuable.
Can I use a measure word with 珠宝?
珠宝 is usually treated as a collective noun, so people say 一些珠宝 (yìxiē zhūbǎo, some jewelry) or 一件珠宝 (yí jiàn zhūbǎo, a piece of jewelry). For a single item, it is more natural to name it, like 一条项链 (yì tiáo xiàngliàn, a necklace).