ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY
报
to report / newspaper / to repay
bào
7 strokes · 扌 (hand radical) + 卩-like right — a hand delivering judgment · HSK 2
报 in traditional Chinese
報
What 报 is made of
扌 + 卩 + 又 = 报
扌hand (side form)
卩kneeling figure
Where 报 comes from
报 (traditional 報) originally showed a hand subduing a kneeling figure — announcing a verdict. From delivering judgment to delivering news: the report, announced by hand.
报 in Chinese culture
报 delivers: 报纸 (newspaper), 报名 (sign up — 'report your name'), 天气预报 (weather forecast), 报告 (report). Its deepest sense is 报答 (repay kindness) and 报仇 (avenge) — the Chinese moral ledger where every favor and every wrong must be 报-ed back. 善有善报 — good deeds get good returns: karma keeps the books.
Example
报名 bàomíng — to sign up
我报名了中文课。
Wǒ bàomíng le Zhōngwén kè.
I signed up for Chinese class.
How to remember it
A hand 扌 delivering the announcement — REPORT (and repay).
善有善报，恶有恶报 — 'good has good returns, evil has evil returns' — the folk law of moral accounting.
Same sound, different tones
Words unlocked by 报
报名 bàomíng
to sign up
报纸 bàozhǐ
newspaper
预报 yùbào
forecast
Related characters
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