Definitions

(noun) father; dad; papa

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character "爸", meaning father, is a relatively late formation in Chinese writing, created as a phono-semantic compound to represent a colloquial paternal term that existed in speech long before it was committed to script. Its structure combines the semantic component 父, which is the classical and pictographic character for father, with the component 巴 serving a purely phonetic function to indicate its pronunciation. This construction follows a common pattern where a new, more specific character is built upon an older, more general semantic root by adding a phonetic indicator for a spoken word, in this case formalizing the familiar term "bà". The traditional form of the character is identical to the simplified one, and its meaning has remained consistently focused on the direct paternal address since its adoption into the written lexicon.

Example Sentences Hide

我的爱我。

Wǒ de bàba ài wǒ.

My dad loves me.

在上班。

Bàba zài shàngbān.

Dad is at work.

是医生。

Wǒ bàba shì yīshēng.

My dad is a doctor.

给我买礼物。

Bàba gěi wǒ mǎi lǐwù.

Dad bought me a gift.

我和去公园。

Wǒ hé bàba qù gōngyuán.

I go to the park with dad.

每天都很忙。

Bàba měitiān dōu hěn máng.

Dad is busy every day.

我帮做家务。

Wǒ bāng bàba zuò jiāwù.

I help dad with housework.

教我怎么骑车。

Bàba jiāo wǒ zěnme qí chē.

Dad taught me how to ride a bike.