ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

薄 báo thin

thin; slight; weak

How to remember 薄: 艹 grass + 氵 water + 尃 spread over = thin. At the picnic on the grass, dad adds water to the pancake batter and spreads it over the pan until it is really thin.

  • HSK 5
  • 16 strokes
  • Radical 艹

Component breakdown

薄 = 艹 grass + 溥

  • 艹 grass
  • 溥
    • 氵 water
    • 尃 spread over
The Gushi story

At the picnic on the grass, dad adds water to the pancake batter and spreads it over the pan until it is really thin.

How it is used

  • 薄 is polyphonic: báo describes literal physical thinness (纸很薄 zhǐ hěn báo - the paper is thin; 衣服穿得太薄 too thin clothing), while bó is used in abstract, more formal compounds.
  • 薄弱 bóruò (weak, e.g. 基础薄弱 weak foundation) and 单薄 dānbó (thin/flimsy, of a body, argument, or clothing in a literary sense) both use the bó reading.
  • As an antonym pair, 薄 báo contrasts with 厚 hòu (thick) the same way 'thin' contrasts with 'thick' in English.

Words with 薄

Example sentences

  • 与薄相对的是厚。 Yǔ báo xiāngduì de shì hòu.Thin is the opposite of thick.