魄 (pò) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

魄

pò[po4]Tone 4

soul, mortal soul

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · soul, mortal soul

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (白) should be compressed slightly to make room for the complex right component (鬼), maintaining overall equal width.

1. Meaning

mortal soul or physical soul (traditionally paired with 魂 hún as 魂魄 húnpò)

spirit, vigor, or courage (e.g., 气魄 qìpò)shadow or reflection (historical literary usage)

NounLiteraryBound morpheme#philosophy#spirituality#traditional culture#emotions

Sample Usage

他的气魄很大。
Tā de qìpò hěn dà.
He has a very bold and imposing manner.
魂魄
húnpò
soul, spirit

2. Sound

/[pʰɔ⁵¹]/Tone: 51

魄

pòpo4

`(51)

=pò

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

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

Type: Aspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: p sound in English 'pack'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong puff of air! A tissue held before lips MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips press together tightly and then burst open with a strong puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: aw sound in English 'paw'

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

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 drops abruptly like an emphatic 'No!' or a sharp command.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the initial 'p' with 'b'; remember 'p' is strongly aspirated while 'b' is unaspirated.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp karate chop downward in the air, mimicking the sudden, forceful drop of Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (白) should be compressed slightly to make room for the complex right component (鬼), maintaining overall equal width.

4. Components

Radical 鬼 · Ghost Radical (ghost, spirit, demon)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 鬼 (Provides the semantic field of ghosts, spirits, and the netherworld.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 白 (original sound: bái/pò phonetic series providing the pronunciation base historically.)

The character combines 白 (white/clear) on the left with 鬼 (ghost) on the right, representing a ghostly spirit that appears pale or white in the netherworld.

白 white, clear, or phonetic clue
鬼 ghost, spirit, or semantic clue

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

13· Phonetic Root: 白 (bái)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally constructed to represent the physical or mortal soul that returns to earth and bone after death, contrasted with 魂 (the spiritual soul that ascends). The pairing uses 鬼 to represent the spirit world.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from specific ancient animistic dual-soul philosophy (魂 and 魄) to broader literary meanings involving spirit, courage, and vigor.

In ancient Chinese philosophy, humans possess both a ethereal soul (魂) and a corporeal soul (魄).

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

phách

High checked tone corresponding to Mandarin Tone 4.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ハク / Kun: たましい

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

백

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A pale, WHITE (白) GHOST (鬼) wandering at night possesses a heavy, mortal SOUL (魄) that drops sharply in the dark.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

白

báiwhitePhonetic Core (声旁)

百

bǎihundred+ 一 (one)

怕

pàto fear+ 忄 (heart)

拍

pāito pat, clap, take a photo+ 扌 (hand)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

魂(hún)

魂 uses the cloud/spirit radical (云), representing the heavenly floating spirit, whereas 魄 uses 鬼, representing the earthy mortal soul.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这个项目的成功展现了团队惊人的气[___]。

Clue: pò

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 魄 (pò) with 魂 (hún) when discussing traditional dual-soul concepts or mixing up the right-hand component with unrelated complex radicals.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 魄 in a literary text or compound like 气魄, what does it mean?

Production: How do you write the character for the mortal soul (pò) combining the 'white' and 'ghost' elements?

魄pòsoul, mortal soul

Speed:

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