背 meaning in English

bèi

the back of a body or object; to turn one's back

HSK 2verbnoun9 strokes

Meaning of 背

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

bèi

the back of a body or object
to turn one's back
to hide something from
to learn by heart
to recite from memory
(slang) unlucky
hard of hearing

bēi

to carry on one's back
(fig.) to bear; to shoulder (a burden, blame etc)

bēi

variant of 背[bei1]

How to use 背

As bèi it means the back, and also to memorize or recite, a very common classroom word. As bēi it means to carry on your back. Example: 我要背课文。(Wǒ yào bèi kèwén.) I need to memorize the text.

背 has 北 (běi) on top and 月 (the flesh radical) below. Picture two people in 北 sitting back to back, resting on the body part 月, and you get "the back."

Common mistake: Learners often say bèi for every meaning. Carrying on the back is bēi, first tone, as in 背包 (bēibāo, backpack), while memorizing and the noun "back" use fourth tone bèi. Also do not confuse 背 with 北 (běi, north), which lacks the 月 underneath.

背 in example sentences

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

背bèi后hòu感gǎn受shòu到dào她tā的de目mù光guāng。

I felt her gaze from behind.

不bú要yào在zài背bèi后hòu说shuō人rén坏huài话huà。

Don't speak ill of others behind their back.

我wǒ感gǎn到dào背bèi上shàng有yǒu东dōng西xī动dòng。

I felt something moving on my back.

你nǐ们men可kě以yǐ把bǎ车chē停tíng到dào旅lǚ馆guǎn背bèi后hòu。

You can park behind the hotel.

背bèi心xīn反fǎn了le，要yào翻fān一yí个gè面miàn。

You need to reverse your vest. It's inside-out!

Stroke order for each character

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

背 bèi · the back of a body or object · 9 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 背.

背后	bèihòu	behind; at the back
背景	bèijǐng	background; backdrop; context; (fig.) powerful backer
背包	bēibāo	knapsack; rucksack
背着	bèizhe	carrying on one's back
背心	bèixīn	sleeveless garment (vest, waistcoat, singlet, tank top etc)
背叛	bèipàn	to betray
违背	wéibèi	to go against; to be contrary to
背面	bèimiàn	the back; the reverse side
背诵	bèisòng	to recite; to repeat from memory
背部	bèibù	back (of a human or other vertebrate, or of an object)
后背	hòubèi	the back (human anatomy); the back part of sth
背负	bēifù	to bear; to carry on one's back

Questions about 背

What does 背 mean?

背 (bèi) means "the back of a body or object; to turn one's back" and is used as a verb and noun.

How do you write 背?

背 is made of 1 character: 背 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.

Is 背 an HSK word?

Yes. 背 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How do you say "to memorize words" with 背?

Say 背单词 (bèi dāncí). It means memorizing vocabulary by repetition, and it is something Chinese students say all the time.

What does 背 mean as slang?

In casual speech 背 (bèi) can mean unlucky, as in 今天真背 (jīntiān zhēn bèi), "I'm so unlucky today." It can also describe someone who is hard of hearing, but that use is less common.