拨

撥
bō
#1,805 most
frequent character
to dial
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

拨 combines 扌 hand with 发 fā, the sound part. It first meant 'to govern', then grew to 'to allocate', 'to move with a hand or foot', and 'to dial a phone'. The sound link is unclear in modern Mandarin.

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Example Sentences

请拨打这个号码。
qǐngbō dǎ zhègè hàomǎ 。
Please dial this number.
他拨了一个电话给我。
tā bō le yígè diànhuà gěi wǒ 。
He dialed a phone call to me.
你能帮我拨这个号码吗？
nǐ néng bāng wǒ bō zhègè hàomǎ ma ？
Can you help me dial this number?

Words with similar meanings

打dǎ
to hit/dial
Often used in a more general sense for making a phone call or hitting something.

Homophones

播bō
broadcast, spread, seed, sow
玻bō
glass
剥bō
to peel, to skin, to flay, to shuck
般bō
used in 般若[bo1re3]
波bō
wave, ripple, storm, surge

Words Starting With 拨

拨打bō dǎ
to call; to dial

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