拍

pāi

扌 + 白

HSK 2.0Level 5

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

pāi (verb) to pat; to clap; to slap

pāi (verb) to take (a photo); to shoot (a film)

pāi (verb) to hit (with a racket in sports)

pāi (noun) beat (in music)

Etymology

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

Semantic: 扌 Phonetic: 白

About

The character 拍 is a phono-semantic compound: the hand radical 扌 (shǒu) conveys the meaning of a hand action, while 白 (bái) indicates the pronunciation. Its primary meaning is to clap, pat, or strike lightly with the open palm. From this physical action, it came to denote a musical beat or tempo, the hand tapping to keep time. In contemporary Chinese, the character also means to take a photograph or shoot a film, a metaphorical extension where the click of the camera is likened to a pat.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Spring and Autumn (771-476 BC)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

小明在拍球。

Xiǎo Míng zài pāi qiú.

Xiao Ming is bouncing a ball.

我们一起拍手。

Wǒmen yīqǐ pāishǒu.

We clap hands together.

她喜欢拍照。

Tā xǐhuān pāizhào.

She likes to take photos.

爸爸拍我的肩膀。

Bàba pāi wǒ de jiānbǎng.

Dad pats my shoulder.

导演在拍电影。

Dǎoyǎn zài pāi diànyǐng.

The director is filming a movie.

他拍下了美丽的风景。

Tā pāi xiàle měilì de fēngjǐng.

He took a picture of the beautiful scenery.

我们需要拍一张合影。

Wǒmen xūyào pāi yī zhāng héyǐng.

We need to take a group photo.

摄影师耐心地拍着每一个镜头。

Shèyǐngshī nàixīn de pāi zhe měi yī gè jìngtóu.

The photographer patiently shoots every scene.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 扌

Component: 白

拍