Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (water) is narrower and compressed, while the right component (white) occupies slightly more visual weight and width.
1. Meaning
to moor a boat, to stop and anchor
to park a vehiclecalm, quiet, peaceful (literary)
Verb / AdjectiveNeutral to literary#transportation#water travel#parking#states of being
Sample Usage
轮船在港口停泊。
Lúnchuán zài gǎngkǒu tíngbó.
The steamship is moored in the harbor.
请把车泊在车位里。
Qǐng bǎ chē bó zài chēwèi lǐ.
Please park the car in the parking space.
2. Sound
/[pɔ³⁵]/Tone: 35
泊
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: Lips pressed together to build air pressure, then released softly without a burst of breath.
Final Rhyme
o
Vowel Group: -o vowel group
Sounds like: -o rhymes with aw in paw
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 in the middle register and rises sharply to the top, matching an upward questioning intonation in English.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the vowel sound with -uo or -u. Make sure it is an open -o sound (-ó).
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Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 2 rises from mid to high like an inquisitive question: 'What?' or 'Really?' Hand sweeps upward from left to right.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 8 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (water) is narrower and compressed, while the right component (white) occupies slightly more visual weight and width.
4. Components
Radical氵 · Water Radical (Water, liquid, or fluid-related concepts)
Semantic Clue (形旁):氵 (Indicates water, rivers, lakes, and boat mooring)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):白 (original sound: bái / bó)
Water (氵) meets white (白). When a boat comes to rest and moors in clear, white, calm water, the surface is peaceful.
氵 Water / river / lake
白 White / clear / phonetic clue
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
2· Phonetic Root: 泊 (pō)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from the water sign (氵) to represent rivers or harbors and the phonetic element (白) which originally provided the sound.
Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to boats stopping by the shore or water bank. Over time, it expanded to modern vehicle parking and metaphorical meanings of calmness.
In classical poetry, 泊 is frequently used to describe a traveler's boat anchored for the night.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
bạc
Corresponds to entering tone / checked tone categories in classical Sino-Xenic readings.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ハク / Kun: と.まる, と.める
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
박
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
A **white** (白) sailboat floats peacefully onto the **water** (氵), ready to **moor** (泊) and park for the night.