巴 bā wait for
to desire; to wish for
How it came to be
An old dictionary reads it as a big snake: the body coiled round and the head lifted out of the coil. The hook at the bottom right is the head.
How it is used
- A versatile bound syllable. It forms body/object words as a neutral-tone suffix: 嘴巴 (zuǐba) mouth, 尾巴 (wěiba) tail, 下巴 (xiàba) chin.
- 大巴 (dàbā) = coach/big bus (from English 'bus'); 巴掌 (bāzhang) = palm/a slap.
- 巴不得 (bābudé) = to be dying/eager for something to happen; 巴结 (bājie) = to fawn on/curry favor.
Characters built with 巴
Words with 巴
Example sentences
- 她工作之余顺便在巴黎游玩。 Tā gōngzuò zhī yú shùnbiàn zài Bālí yóuwán.She travels to Paris when she gets time off from work.