Writing Balance Rule: The left component (亻) is narrower and compressed, while the right component (白) is wider, giving the character a stable, balanced proportion.
1. Meaning
father's elder brother
senior or eldest among brothersrespectful form of address for an older mancount or earl (third rank of ancient nobility)
NounFormal / Literary / Traditional kinship#family#kinship#titles#nobility
Sample Usage
大伯
dàbó
eldest uncle / father's eldest brother
伯父
bófù
uncle (father's elder brother)
2. Sound
/[pwo³⁵]/Tone: 35
伯
bóbo2
|
++
´(35)
=bó
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
bo
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "o" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
b
Type: Unaspirated Bilabial
Sounds like: b as in 'boy'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. A tissue in front of lips should stay still.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips pressed together gently, then released without a burst of breath.
Final Rhyme
o
Vowel Group: -o vowel group
Sounds like: o rhymes with the 'o' in 'more' or 'bone'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'aw'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T2 (35)
3 → 5 (35)
2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 starts at a mid pitch and rises smoothly to a high pitch, exactly like asking a question in English such as 'What?' or 'Really?'
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3 syllable, bó undergoes tone sandhi and shifts to a rising tone similar to a half-third or second tone depending on speech tempo.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the rising tone (bó) with the fourth falling tone (bò or bù), or mistaking the initial 'b' for an aspirated 'p'.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A quick upward head nod or hand sweep moving from chest level up to eye level, mirroring the rising pitch of Tone 2.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left component (亻) is narrower and compressed, while the right component (白) is wider, giving the character a stable, balanced proportion.
4. Components
Radical亻 · Person radical (human, person)
Semantic Clue (形旁):亻 (indicates human or kinship relations)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):白 (original sound: bái)
A person (亻) who stands out as clear and white-haired (白) with seniority—specifically, your father's elder brother.
亻 person
白 white / phonetic sound clue
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
13· Phonetic Root: 白 (bái)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally combined the person radical (亻) with the phonetic and semantic base (白), denoting a senior male relative or head of the lineage.
Semantic Evolution: Expanded from a specific kinship term (father's elder brother) to general senior status, peer rankings among brothers (伯仲叔季), and noble titles.
In ancient Chinese peerage, 伯 (bó) represented the third rank of nobility, commonly translated as 'count' or 'earl'.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
bá
The rising tone in Sino-Vietnamese (thanh sắc) corresponds well with Mandarin Tone 2.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ハク / Kun: おさ
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
백
Sound Shift Bridge: The initial 'b-' remains consistent across many Chinese dialects and Sino-Xenic borrowings.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
Your **person** (亻) uncle is so wise and **clear** (白) in his judgment that he is treated like a senior noble count.