HanziGuru.拨 · bō
拨
bō[bo1]Tone 1

to push aside, dial, allocate

HSK 6
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撥
Guru Deep Dive

English · to push aside, dial, allocate

Cached lesson
1 / 1
Topology:Left-right
Strokes:8
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (hand component) should be slightly narrower and compressed, leaving ample space for the right phonetic component to maintain equal visual weight.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form '撥' simplifies the right-side phonetic component '發' into '发', changing the top structure while keeping the hand radical intact.
1. Meaning

to push aside with the hand, foot, or a stick

to dial (a phone number)to allocate or set aside fundsto poke or stir a fireto pluck the strings of a musical instrumentclassifier for a group, batch, or lot of people
Verb and ClassifierNeutral#action#movement#finance#telecommunications#quantifiers
Sample Usage
  • 请帮我拨一下这个电话号码。
    Qǐng bāng wǒ bō yīxià zhège diànhuà hàomǎ.
    Please help me dial this phone number.
  • 公司拨了一笔资金用于项目开发。
    Gōngsī bō le yī bǐ zījīn yòng yú xiàngmù kāifā.
    The company allocated a sum of funds for project development.
2. Sound
/[pɔ⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
拨
bōbo1
++
¯(55)
=bō
Initial Consonant
b
Type: Unaspirated Bilabial
Sounds like: b sound 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 closed tightly together before release
Final Rhyme
o
Vowel Group: -o vowel group
Sounds like: -o rhymes with 'aw' in saw or 'o' in pot
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'aw'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady plateau, identical to singing a high musical note without any inflection.
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse it with 'bò' (tone 4) or 'bó' (tone 2). Ensure the pitch stays high and steady without dipping or rising.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Make a flat, high horizontal motion with your hand in front of your face, matching a high-pitched singing note.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 8 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (hand component) should be slightly narrower and compressed, leaving ample space for the right phonetic component to maintain equal visual weight.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form '撥' simplifies the right-side phonetic component '發' into '发', changing the top structure while keeping the hand radical intact.

4. Components

Radical 扌 · Hand Radical (hand, physical action)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 扌 (Indicates actions performed with the hand, such as pushing, dialing, or plucking.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 发 (original sound: fā / bō phonetic series)

The Hand radical (扌) on the left pairs with the phonetic/semantic partner '发' on the right to show an action driven by manual force or allocation.

  • 扌 Hand component indicating physical motion
  • 发 Phonetic and structural component on the right
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the hand radical (扌) representing physical pushing or moving, and a phonetic sound element (发) indicating pronunciation.

Semantic Evolution: Originally meant using the hand to push aside or move objects. Over time, it extended to dialing rotary phones, allocating financial funds, and even acting as a classifier for batches of people.

  • The transition from pushing physical objects to dialing telephones demonstrates how traditional Chinese characters absorb modern technological semantics.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ハツ (Hatsu) / バツ (Batsu) / Kun: saku
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

With your HAND (扌) you PUSH ASIDE and DIAL the phone, sending a wave of funds (发) out to the batch of workers.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
泼
pōto splash, to sprinkleUses water radical (氵) instead of hand radical (扌) for liquids.
坡
pōslope, hillUses earth radical (土) to represent land topography.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
波(bō)
Means 'wave' and uses the water radical (氵) instead of the hand radical (扌).
发(fā)
Missing the left hand radical entirely; refers to hair or sending out.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
请帮我[___]一个电话。
Clue: bō
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing '拨' (bō - hand action/dial) with '波' (bō - water wave) due to identical pronunciation.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see '拨', what are its core meanings involving the hand?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to dial' or 'to allocate funds' with pinyin bō?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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