bǎo

treasure; precious; treasured

HSK Level 4

Example Sentences

这个宝箱里有什么?

Zhège bǎoxiāng lǐ yǒu shénme?

What's in this treasure chest?

我有一个宝藏要和你分享。

Wǒ yǒu yīgè bǎocáng yào hé nǐ fēnxiǎng.

I have a treasure to share with you.

他是一个宝藏男孩。

Tā shì yīgè bǎocáng nán hái.

He is a treasure boy.

Synonyms

珍宝 (zhēnbǎo)

treasure

宝物 (bǎowù)

treasure

Antonyms

(jiǎ)

fake

(chǒu)

ugly

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Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 宝 (bǎo) is composed of two parts: the radical 玉 (yù), which means "jade," and the phonetic component 貝 (bèi), which means "cowry shell." The character 宝 originally meant "a valuable object made of jade or cowry shells," and it was later extended to mean "treasure" or "gem."The radical 玉 (yù) is one of the most important radicals in Chinese, and it is used in many characters related to precious stones and minerals. The character 貝 (bèi) is also a common radical, and it is used in many characters related to money and wealth.The combination of the radical 玉 and the phonetic component 貝 creates the character 宝, which perfectly captures the meaning of "treasure" or "gem." The character 宝 is a beautiful and meaningful character, and it is an important part of the Chinese language.