疤 (bā) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

疤

bā[ba1]Tone 1

scar

Guru Deep Dive

English · scar

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the sickness radical) acts as a lean sheltering roof, while the right side (巴) nests snugly underneath its right overhang.

1. Meaning

scar

scabblemish

NounNeutral#medicine#body#physical state

Sample Usage

他脸上有一道疤。
Tā liǎn shàng yǒu yī dào bā.
He has a scar on his face.
伤口结疤了。
Shāngkǒu jié bā le.
The wound has formed a scab.

2. Sound

/[pa˥]/Tone: 55

疤

bāba1

¯(55)

=bā

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "a" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Say it like:“bah”ExactTone pitch cue:flat, high

Key difference: —

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: b sound in English 'bat'

Unaspirated

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

Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips together, releasing air gently without an accompanying puff of breath

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: ah sound as in 'father'

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

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

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, flat pitch, like singing a sustained note at the top of your normal speaking voice.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with the 4th tone bà (bà), which drops sharply. This is flat and high.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Keep your hand flat and steady at a high level in front of your face, matching the high level pitch of Tone 1.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the sickness radical) acts as a lean sheltering roof, while the right side (巴) nests snugly underneath its right overhang.

4. Components

Radical 疒 · Sickness Radical (Illness, disease, or bodily conditions)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 疒 (Indicates that the word relates to a bodily ailment or skin condition.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 巴 (original sound: bā)

A sickness or injury (疒) leaves a permanent mark or lingering trace shaped like a snake wrapping around (巴).

疒 Sickness or body wound
巴 Phonetic clue providing the sound 'bā'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

20· Phonetic Root: 巴 (bā)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the sickness classifier 疒 and the phonetic element 巴 (which originally depicted a crouching animal or snake, later borrowed for its sound). Together they signify a mark left behind on the body from a wound.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to skin abnormalities and lingering marks from sores or injuries, expanding to mean any physical scar or scab.

The sickness radical appears in many characters related to physical maladies like illness (病) and pain (疼).

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine getting a sickness or injury on your skin (疒). As it heals, a snake-like crust (巴) forms over it, leaving behind a lasting scar.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

巴

bāto wish, to long for, bar, Pakistan (abbr.)Phonetic Core (声旁)

吧

bābar / to puff / bang / (sentence final particle)+ 口 (mouth)

爸

bàfather+ 父 (father)

爬

páto crawl, to climb+ 爪 (claw)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

爸(bà)

爸 has the father radical (父) on top for 'dad', whereas 疤 has the sickness radical (疒) for a physical scar.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他小时候摔倒了，额头上留下了一个[___]。

Clue: bā

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the tone with the 4th tone or mixing up the radical with the hand or father radicals found in lookalike characters like 把 or 爸.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 疤, what English meaning and Pinyin come to mind?

Production: How do you write the Chinese character for 'scar' (bā) using the sickness radical?

疤bāscar

Speed:

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