把

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

把 (Kangxi radical 64, 手+4, 7 strokes, cangjie input 手日山 (QAU), four-corner 5701₇, composition ⿰扌巴)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 420, character 21
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 11874
• Dae Jaweon: page 768, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1845, character 4
• Unihan data for U+628A

Chinese

Glyph origin

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *praːʔ) : semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 巴 (OC *praː).

Pronunciation 1

Definitions

把

1. to hold; to grasp; to take

   把握  ―  bǎwò  ―  to grasp; to control; to master

   媽媽手把手教我寫字。 [MSC, trad.]
   妈妈手把手教我写字。 [MSC, simp.]

   Māma shǒubǎshǒu jiào wǒ xiězì.

   My mom held my hand and taught me to write.

   • 縱有健婦把鋤犁，禾生隴畝無東西。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     纵有健妇把锄犁，禾生陇亩无东西。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 8th century, 杜甫 (Du Fu), 《兵車行》 (The Army Wagons: A Ballad); translated by Stephen Owen

     Zòng yǒu jiànfù bǎ chúlí, hé shēng lǒngmǔ wú dōngxī.

     Even though there are sturdy wives to hold the hoe and plow, the grain grows on the field boundary slopes and one can’t tell east from west.

2. to control; to dominate

   把控  ―  bǎkòng  ―  to control

3. to guard; to have control over

   把守  ―  bǎshǒu  ―  to guard; to defend

   把門／把门  ―  bǎmén  ―  to guard a door or gate

   • 令人傳我的號令去，著下將軍韓厥，把住府門，不搜進去的，只搜出來的。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     令人传我的号令去，着下将军韩厥，把住府门，不搜进去的，只搜出来的。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Yuan Dynasty, Ji Junxiang, The Orphan of Zhao

     Lìng rén chuán wǒ de hàolìng qù, zhuó xiàjiāngjūn Hán Jué, bǎ zhù fǔmén, bù sōu jìnqù de, zhǐ sōu chūlái de.

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

4. (colloquial) to be close; to be near
5. to hold a baby while it relieves itself

   把尿  ―  bǎniào  ―  to hold a baby while it urinates

6. (traditional Chinese medicine) to feel (for the pulse)

   我替施主把把脈。 [MSC, trad.]
   我替施主把把脉。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ tì shīzhǔ bǎ bǎmài.

   Let me feel the pulse for you.

7. A light verb or preposition placed before the object of a sentence to allow it to be placed before the verb, giving greater flexibility in complex sentence construction.

   他把刀放在桌子上。 [MSC, trad. and simp.]

   Tā bǎ dāo fàng zài zhuōzi shàng.

   He put the knife on the table.

8. Used before a “subject + verb + complement” structure; to cause to; to make

   真的把我氣死了！ [MSC, trad.]
   真的把我气死了！ [MSC, simp.]

   Zhēnde bǎ wǒ qìsǐ le!

   It really made me so mad!

9. bundle; bunch

   火把  ―  huǒbǎ  ―  torch (stick with a flame on one end)

10. handle; knob; grip (a part of an object which is held in the hand)

    車把／车把  ―  chēbǎ  ―  handlebar (of a bicycle)

    刀把  ―  dāobà  ―  knife handle; hilt

11. stem (of a flower, leaf, fruit, etc.)

    葉把兒／叶把儿  ―  yèbàr  ―  stem of a leaf

12. Classifier for objects that can be held using handles or knobs, such as guns, chairs, brooms, or umbrellas. ⇒ all nouns using this classifier

    三把刀  ―  sān bǎ dāo  ―  three knives

    四把鉸剪／四把铰剪 [Cantonese]  ―  sei³ baa² gaau³ zin²   ―  four pairs of scissors

    一把刀囝 [Eastern Min, trad. and simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 , Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1677

    siŏh bā dŏ̤-giāng / [Bàng-uâ-cê / IPA]

    a pocketknife

    兩把掃把／两把扫把  ―  liǎng bǎ sǎobǎ  ―  two brooms

13. Classifier for handfuls of something, such as grains, soil.

    一把米  ―  yī bǎ mǐ  ―  a handful of rice

14. Classifier for bundles or bunches.

    一把韭菜  ―  yī bǎ jiǔcài  ―  a bunch of garlic chives

15. Classifier for fire.

    點一把火／点一把火  ―  diǎn yī bǎ huǒ  ―  to light a fire

16. Classifier for some abstract ideas, such as force, effort or age.

    加把勁兒！／加把劲儿！  ―  Jiā bǎ jìnr!  ―  Make an extra effort!

    一把年紀／一把年纪  ―  yī bǎ niánjì  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

17. Classifier for something done with the hand.

    幫你一把／帮你一把  ―  bāng nǐ yī bǎ  ―  to give you a helping hand

18. Classifier for times of recreations.

    過把癮／过把瘾  ―  guò bǎ yǐn  ―  to satisfy a craving

    打把麻將／打把麻将  ―  dǎ bǎ májiāng  ―  to play mahjong

    玩兩把牌／玩两把牌  ―  wán liǎng bǎ pái  ―  to play card games

    打幾把遊戲／打几把游戏  ―  dǎ jǐ bǎ yóuxì  ―  to play video games

    汏把浴 [Shanghainese, trad. and simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 , Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1675

    ⁶da ⁵po ⁸yoq [Wugniu]

    to bathe

19. (Xiamen and Quanzhou Hokkien) Classifier for wheeled vehicles.

    一把跤踏車 [Hokkien, trad.]
    一把跤踏车 [Hokkien, simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 , Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1677

    chi̍t pé kha-ta̍h-chhia [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

    a bicycle

20. Placed after numerals or classifiers to express uncertainty; approximately

    個把月／个把月  ―  ge bǎ yuè  ―  approximately a month

    十把日 [Eastern Min, trad. and simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 , Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1677

    sĕk bā nĭk / [Bàng-uâ-cê / IPA]

    approximately ten days

    隻把人 [Northern Min, trad.]
    只把人 [Northern Min, simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 , Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1676

    ciă bǎ nêng [Kienning Colloquial Romanized]

    several people

21. (archaic or dialectal Mandarin, Gan, Xiang) to give

    把壓歲錢／把压岁钱 [Gan]  ―  ba³ 'ngat⁶ sui⁴ qien² [Wiktionary]  ―  to give money (to children) during the Chinese New Year

    把本書你 [Xiang, trad.]
    把本书你 [Xiang, simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 , Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1675

    ba³ ben³ xy¹ nyi³ [Wiktionary]

    to give you a book

    把我一本書 [Yangzhou Mandarin, trad.]
    把我一本书 [Yangzhou Mandarin, simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 , Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1672

    to give me a book

    • 虞家小廝又悄悄的從後門叫了一個賣草的，把他四個錢。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
      虞家小厮又悄悄的从后门叫了一个卖草的，把他四个钱。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

      From: Wu Jingzi, The Scholars, 1750 CE

      Yú jiā xiǎosī yòu qiāoqiāo de cóng hòumén jiào le yī ge mài cǎo de, bǎ tā sì ge qián.

      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

22. a surname

Usage notes

Wikipedia has articles on:

• 把字句 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
• bǎ construction (English)

• A great deal of linguistic research has been carried out regarding the grammar of the "bǎ construction".

Synonyms

• (to control):

• (to be close):

• (light verb or preposition):

• (handle): 柄 (bǐng)
• (classifier):

• (to give):

Compounds