爬 pá climb
climb; to crawl
How to remember 爬: 爪 claw + 巴 wait for = climb. The kitten sinks a claw into the new curtains, won't wait for its horrified owner and climbs straight to the top.
Component breakdown
爬 = 爪 claw + 巴 wait for
- 爪 claw
- 巴 wait for
The kitten sinks a claw into the new curtains, won't wait for its horrified owner and climbs straight to the top.
How it is used
- The go-to verb for climbing something you use hands and feet on - 爬山 (pá shān) hike/climb a mountain, 爬树 (pá shù) climb a tree, 爬楼梯 (pá lóutī) climb stairs.
- Also plain crawl/creep along the ground - 宝宝会爬了 (bǎobao huì pá le) the baby can crawl now; 爬行 (páxíng) crawl.
- Not for ascending by machine or scaling a wall cleanly - that job goes to 上/登; 爬 implies effort on all fours or a hard slog up.
Example sentences
- 我喜欢爬山。 Wǒ xǐhuan páshān.I like to go climbing.
- 假如天晴了，我就和你去爬山。 Jiǎrú tiān qíng le, wǒ jiù hé nǐ qù páshān.If the weather clears, I will go climbing with you.