八

bā
HSK 1
#451 most
frequent character
eight, 8
noun
Measure Word

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

八 was drawn as two strokes pulled apart, giving the old sense 'to separate or distinguish.' The number 'eight' was later borrowed only for the sound, with no link to the strokes.

Drawn as: two strokes apart

八 as a component in other characters

sound5 characters
分匹叭趴扒
picture4 characters
分公胤尣
empty3 characters
办介穴

Ask DeepSeek

Example Sentences

我有八个苹果。
wǒyǒu bāgè píngguǒ 。
I have eight apples.
今天是八月八日。
jīntiānshì bāyuè bārì 。
Today is August 8th.
她有八本书。
tā yǒu bā běn shū 。
She has eight books.

Grammar Points

HSK 1
Structure of numbers

Homophones

HSK 6
扒bā
to hold on to, to cling to
HSK 6
疤bā
scar
巴bā
to long for, to wish, to cling to
吧bā
bar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc)

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.

Public Lists with 八

HSK 1
All words for the HSK 1 test
Numbers & Counting
Numerals, counting words, and measure words frequently used with numbers.
Time & Dates
Days of the week, months, seasons, telling time, and related expressions.