雹

báo

包 + 雨

Definitions

báo hail

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 雨 represents the meaning and 包 represents the sound.

Semantic: 雨 Phonetic: 包

About

雹 is a phonosemantic compound: the upper component 雨 (rain) provides the meaning, placing it among weather phenomena, while 包 (bāo) gives the sound. The 包 component may also hint at water being wrapped or enclosed into solid ice. The character has always denoted hail, solid precipitation from severe thunderstorms, without acquiring significant extended meanings. This structure reflects the traditional categorization of hail as a type of precipitation under the rain radical.

Etymology Hide

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

昨天晚上突然下雹子了。

Zuótiān wǎnshang tūrán xià báozile.

Last night, it suddenly hailed.

天气预报说下午可能有冰雹。

Tiānqì yùbào shuō xiàwǔ kěnéng yǒu bīngbáo.

The weather forecast said there might be hail in the afternoon.

这场冰雹把菜园的叶子都打坏了。

Zhè chǎng bīngbáo bǎ càiyuán de yèzi dōu dǎ huàile.

This hailstorm damaged all the leaves in the vegetable garden.

春末的雹灾让果农损失严重。

Chūnmò de báozāi ràng guǒnóng sǔnshī yánzhòng.

The hail disaster in late spring caused serious losses for the fruit farmers.

雹子噼里啪啦地打在窗户上。

Báozi pīlipālā de dǎ zài chuānghu shàng.

Hailstones rattled against the window pane.

猛烈的雹暴伴随着雷电一起到来。

Měngliè de báobào bànsuízhe léidiàn yīqǐ dàolái.

A violent hailstorm arrived accompanied by thunder and lightning.

泥石流发生的时候，居然还夹杂着冰雹。

Níshíliú fāshēng de shíhou, jūrán hái jiāzázhe bīngbáo.

When the mudslide occurred, it was surprisingly mixed with hail.

高速公路因路面结雹而暂时封闭。

Gāosù gōnglù yīn lùmiàn jié báo ér zànshí fēngbì.

The highway was temporarily closed due to hail accumulation on the road surface.

Related Characters

Component: 包

Component: 雨

雹