报
Character Story & Explanation
报 has been used for over two millennia in official and literary contexts to mean ‘to report to a superior’ — documented in classical texts like the *Zuo Zhuan* (c. 4th century BCE), where ministers ‘report’ (报) military outcomes to rulers. Today, it’s ubiquitous: 报警 (bào jǐng, ‘to call police’), 报名 (bào míng, ‘to register’), and newspaper names like 人民日报 (Rénmín Rìbào, ‘People’s Daily’). The phrase 有仇报仇 (yǒu chóu bào chóu, ‘an eye for an eye’) shows its extended meaning ‘to repay’ — rooted in classical reciprocity ethics.
The modern form of 报 evolved from seal script, combining 扌 (hand/action) and 包 (bāo, ‘to wrap’), symbolizing ‘delivering or conveying something wrapped up’ — i.e., packaged information. Though not a pictograph, this semantic-phonetic structure (形声字) is well-documented in dictionaries like the *Shuōwén Jiězì* (121 CE).
Hi students! Let’s learn 报 (bào), a Level 2 HSK character with just 7 strokes and the hand radical 扌 — which tells us this character relates to an action done with the hands or body. In ancient Chinese, many characters with 扌 involve doing, giving, or transmitting something — and 报 is no exception. It fundamentally means ‘to report’ or ‘to inform’, like sending information from one person to another.
This character appears everywhere: in news headlines (新闻报道), official notices (通知), and even digital contexts like ‘reporting a comment’ on WeChat or Douyin. It’s not about shouting — it’s about purposeful, often formal communication. Think of it as ‘delivering information with intent’, whether you’re telling your teacher about homework or a journalist publishing a story.
Don’t confuse 报 with similar-sounding words like bào (‘thin’) or pào (‘explosion’). Its pronunciation is always fourth tone — firm and falling — like saying “bào!” when you’ve got urgent news. Practice writing it step by step: first the hand radical (扌), then the right side 包 (bāo, meaning ‘to wrap’), which hints at ‘containing and delivering’ information — a helpful memory clue!
Example Sentences
Common Compounds
Similar Characters — Don't Mix These Up
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