把

bǎ, bà

巴 + 扌

HSK 2.0Level 3

HSK 3.0Level 3

Definitions

bǎ (verb) to hold; to grasp; to take hold of

bǎ (particle) particle marking the following noun as a direct object

bǎ (classifier) classifier for objects that can be held or have handles, e.g. toothbrush; umbrella; knife

bà (noun) handle

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 巴 represents the sound.

Semantic: 扌 Phonetic: 巴

About

The character 把 is a phonosemantic compound: 扌 'hand' on the left gives the meaning, and 巴 on the right the sound. Its original sense is the verb 'to hold or grasp,' which extended to a noun meaning a handle or something to be gripped. Through grammaticalization, it became a preposition that moves the object before the verb to emphasize how it is handled or disposed of. It also functions as a measure word for objects with handles like chairs and umbrellas, and for a handful of things, all meanings rooted in the hand radical.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他把门打开。

Tā bǎ mén dǎkāi.

He opens the door.

我买了一把刀。

Wǒ mǎi le yī bǎ dāo.

I bought a knife.

妈妈把房间打扫了。

Māma bǎ fángjiān dǎsǎo le.

Mom cleaned the room.

老师把问题解释清楚了。

Lǎoshī bǎ wèntí jiěshì qīngchu le.

The teacher explained the problem clearly.

请把这份文件交给经理。

Qǐng bǎ zhè fèn wénjiàn jiāo gěi jīnglǐ.

Please give this document to the manager.

如果你把时间浪费了，你就会后悔。

Rúguǒ nǐ bǎ shíjiān làngfèi le, nǐ jiù huì hòuhuǐ.

If you waste time, you will regret it.

他把所有的精力都投入到工作中。

Tā bǎ suǒyǒu de jīnglì dōu tóurù dào gōngzuò zhōng.

He puts all his energy into his work.

为了完成这个项目，我们必须把每一步都计划好。

Wèile wánchéng zhège xiàngmù, wǒmen bìxū bǎ měi yī bù dōu jìhuà hǎo.

To complete this project, we must plan every step well.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 巴

Component: 扌

把