罢 (bà) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

罢

bà[ba4]Tone 4

to stop, cease, dismiss, or quit

HSK 6

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罷

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to stop, cease, dismiss, or quit

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The top net/grid element (罒) must be drawn wide and flat to provide a stable roof over the lower portion (毛).

Simplification Logic: The traditional form (罷) uses 罒 at the top and 罝 inside, but was simplified in modern Chinese to retain the net shape at the top while streamlining the lower components.

1. Meaning

to stop or cease an action

to dismiss from a jobto suspendto quitto finish

VerbNeutral#action#labor#cessation

Sample Usage

大家快罢手吧！
dàjiā kuài bà shǒu ba!
Everyone, stop what you are doing quickly!
他罢工了。
tā bàgōng le.
He went on strike.

2. Sound

/[pa˥˩]/Tone: 51

罢

bàba4

`(51)

=bà

Initial Consonant

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 touch gently to block airflow, then release cleanly without an extra puff of breath.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: ah as in father

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

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

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges sharply to the bottom, identical to shouting a commanding 'No!' or 'Stop!' in English.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the 4th tone (bà) with the neutral tone particle (ba), which is short, unstressed, and has no fixed pitch contour.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, definitive chop downward with your hand, mirroring an order to halt or stop.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The top net/grid element (罒) must be drawn wide and flat to provide a stable roof over the lower portion (毛).

4. Components

Radical 网 · Net Radical (net, web)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 网 (Represents catching or trapping something in a net, metaphorically bringing movement to a stop.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 去 (original sound: qù/ba)

A net (网) captures and stops a fleeing animal (like a boar or energetic beast), causing activity to cease.

罒 net shape at the top
毛 fur or lower phonetic/semantic support

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 罢 (bà)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted an animal caught in a hunting net, signifying that its movement has been stopped or trapped.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical trapping of an animal in a net to the abstract concept of stopping, ending, or dismissing an action.

In classical Chinese texts, 罢 is frequently used interchangeably with 疲 (tired), as a trapped animal becomes exhausted.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine throwing a fishing net (罒) over a wild animal to force it to stop (罢) running away.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

摆

bǎito place, to swingAdded the hand radical (扌) to mean using hands to arrange or swing things.

罪

zuìcrime, guiltUses a net (网) over non (非) to mean catching a wrongdoer in a net.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

爸(bà)

爸 has the father radical (父) on top, meaning 'dad', whereas 罢 has the net radical (罒).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

大家工作了一天，现在可以[___]工休息了。

Clue: bà

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the tone with neutral tone particles like '吧' (ba) or mixing up the character with '爸' (bà - dad).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see the character 罢, what English action verb does it primarily represent?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to stop' or 'to dismiss' (bà) using the net radical?

罢bàto stop, cease, dismiss, or quit

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