坡

pō

土 + 皮

HSK 2.0Level 6

HSK 3.0Level 6

Definitions

pō (noun,adjective) slope; sloping; slanted

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 土 represents the meaning and 皮 represents the sound.

Semantic: 土 Phonetic: 皮

About

坡 means a slope, incline, or hillside, any terrain that slants gradually rather than dropping vertically. It is a phono-semantic compound: the left side is the radical 土 (tǔ, meaning earth or soil), indicating the character belongs to the semantic field of landforms and the physical ground. The right side is 皮 (pí, meaning skin or leather), which serves solely as a phonetic component, supplying the character's pronunciation without contributing the meaning of skin. The character is used in topographical contexts to describe mountain slopes, the sloping banks of rivers, and artificially constructed ramps that create an angled transition between two distinct horizontal elevations.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Warring States (~250 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

前面有一个小山坡。

Qiánmiàn yǒu yí gè xiǎo shānpō.

There is a small hill ahead.

他慢慢地爬上山坡。

Tā mànmàn de pá shàng shānpō.

He slowly climbed up the hillside.

这个斜坡有点陡。

Zhège xiépō yǒudiǎn dǒu.

This slope is a bit steep.

孩子们喜欢在草坡上玩耍。

Háizimen xǐhuan zài cǎo pō shàng wánshuǎ.

The children like to play on the grassy slope.

这条路的坡度很大。

Zhè tiáo lù de pōdù hěn dà.

The gradient of this road is very steep.

如果下坡太快，请小心刹车。

Rúguǒ xiàpō tài kuài, qǐng xiǎoxīn shāchē.

If you go downhill too fast, please brake carefully.

虽然山坡很陡，但他还是坚持骑了上去。

Suīrán shānpō hěn dǒu, dàn tā háishi jiānchí qí le shàngqù.

Although the hill was steep, he insisted on riding up it.

站在山顶俯瞰，远处的山坡上点缀着几户人家。

Zhàn zài shāndǐng fǔkàn, yuǎnchù de shānpō shàng diǎnzhuì zhe jǐ hù rénjiā.

Standing at the mountaintop and looking down, a few households are dotted on the distant hillside.

Related Characters

Component: 土

Component: 皮

坡