保 (bǎo) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

保

bǎo[bao3]Tone 3

protect, defend, guarantee

HSK 3

Guru Deep Dive

English · protect, defend, guarantee

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (亻 person radical) is narrow and upright, while the right side (呆) is broader and anchors the character's weight. Leave breathing room between the two halves.

1. Meaning

to protect, to defend, to keep

to guarantee, to ensureBulgaria (abbreviation)

VerbNeutral#security#action#society

Sample Usage

请你帮我保管这台电脑。
Qǐng nǐ bāng wǒ bǎoguǎn zhè tái diànnǎo.
Please help me keep/safeguard this computer.
我保证完成这个任务。
Wǒ bǎozhèng wánchéng zhè gè rènwu.
I guarantee to complete this task.

2. Sound

/[pɑʊ̯²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

保

bǎobao3

ˇ(214)

=bǎo

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: b sound in English 'boy'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. A tissue in front of lips should stay still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips pressed together firmly, releasing softly with voice box vibration.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -ow sound in English 'cow'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ow'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Starts at mid-register, dips down into the vocal depths, and rises back up, just like asking 'Really?' in disbelief.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, it changes to a 2nd tone (rising).

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the low-dipping Tone 3 bǎo with Tone 1 bāo (flat) or Tone 4 bào (sharp drop).

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down from chest level and sweep upward to eye level.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

4. Components

Radical 亻 · person radical (human, person)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 亻 (indicates human action or guardianship)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 呆 (original sound: bǎo / dāi)

A person (亻) standing guard over a small child or object (represented by 呆, meaning dull or stagnant, but here providing sound and the idea of holding still/secure).

亻 person
呆 phonetic clue and anchor

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 呆 (dāi)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted a person carrying a child on their back to protect and nurture them. Over time, the glyph evolved into the current left-right structure.

Semantic Evolution: From physically carrying/nurturing a child to general protection, safekeeping, and guaranteeing safety.

Historically used in administrative units ('baojia' system) where households mutually guarded and monitored one another.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

bảo

Corresponds to the Vietnamese hỏi tone.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ホ (ho) / Kun: たも.つ (tamotsu)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

보

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A **person** (亻) stays completely **still** (呆) on guard duty to **protect** and **guarantee** the safety of the camp.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

保

bǎoprotectBase character with person radical.

堡

bǎofortressAdds earth (土) at the bottom for a defensive earthen fortress.

燥

zàodryReplaces person with fire (火) for drying heat.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

呆(dāi)

呆 (dāi) lacks the person radical (亻) on the left and means 'foolish' or 'stay'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我们要好好的[___]环境。

Clue: bǎo hù

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing it visually with 呆 or forgetting the left person radical when handwriting.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 保, what English action verbs come to mind?

Production: How do you write the character meaning 'to protect' or 'to guarantee' with 9 strokes?

保bǎoprotect, defend, guarantee

Speed:

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