Dictionary › 波

波

bō

HSK 6 Character

What 波 means

1. wave
2. ripple
3. storm
4. surge

Other readings

波 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• BōPoland (abbr. for {波兰|Bō lán}); surname Bo

Example sentences

• 他精通波斯语。
  Tā jīngtōng Bōsīyǔ.
  He is proficient in Farsi.
• 涉及到波兰语。
  Shèjí dào Bōlányǔ.
  The Polish language is involved.
• 他来自波士顿。
  I'm from Boston.
• 咱还在波兰吧！
  I think we are still in Poland!
• 我们在波士顿。
  We're in Boston.
• 我想念波士顿。
  I miss Boston.

Words starting with 波

• 波浪bō làngwave
• 波涛汹涌bō tāo xiōng yǒngwaves surging forth; roaring sea
• 波兰Bō lánPoland
• 波动bō dòngto undulate; to fluctuate; wave motion
• 波特bō tè(loanword) baud (computing); porter (beer)
• 波斯Bō sīPersia
• 波罗Bō luóPolo (car made by Volkswagen); surname Polo
• 波士顿Bō shì dùnBoston, capital of Massachusetts
• 波澜bō lánbillows; great waves (fig. of a story with great momentum)
• 波涛bō tāobillows; great waves; surging waves
• 波及bō jíto spread to; to involve; to affect
• 波音bō yīnmordent (music)
• 波折bō zhétwists and turns
• 波罗的海Bō luó dì HǎiBaltic Sea
• 波段bō duànwave band
• 波恩Bō ēnBonn, a small town on the Rhine, Cold War capital of West Germany 1949-1990
• 波光bō guānggleaming reflection of waves in sunlight
• 波纹bō wénripple; corrugation
• 波尔多Bō ěr duōBordeaux
• 波澜壮阔bō lán zhuàng kuòsurging forward with great momentum; unfolding on a magnificent scale
• 波斯湾Bō sī WānPersian Gulf
• 波多黎各Bō duō Lí gèPuerto Rico, self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States
• 波光粼粼bō guāng lín lín(idiom) (of water) shimmering with ripples; glistening
• 波卡bō kǎburqa (loanword)

Words containing 波

• 奔波bēn bōto rush about; to be constantly on the move
• 风波fēng bōdisturbance; crisis; disputes
• 微波炉wēi bō lúmicrowave oven
• 小波xiǎo bōwavelet (math.)
• 阿波罗Ā bō luóApollo (loanword)
• 微波wēi bōripple; microwave
• 随波逐流suí bō zhú liúto drift with the waves and go with the flow (idiom); to follow the crowd blindly
• 电波diàn bōelectric wave; alternating current
• 薄一波Bó Yī bōBo Yibo (1908-2007), ranking PRC politician, served on State Council from 1950s to 1980s…
• 水波shuǐ bōwave; (water) ripple
• 轩然大波xuān rán dà bōhuge waves; (fig.) ruckus; controversy
• 宁波市Níng bō ShìNingbo, sub-provincial city in Zhejiang Province 浙江省
• 短波duǎn bōshortwave (radio)
• 推波助澜tuī bō zhù lánto push the wave and add to the billows (idiom); to add momentum…
• 王小波Wáng Xiǎo bōWang Xiaobo (1952-1997), scholar and novelist
• 秋波qiū bōautumn ripples; (fig.) luminous eyes of a woman; amorous glance
• 刘晓波Liú Xiǎo bōLiu Xiaobo (1955-2017), Beijing writer and human rights activist, organizer of petition…
• 冲击波chōng jī bōshock wave; blast wave
• 眼波yǎn bōfluid glance
• 海波hǎi bōhypo (loanword); sodium thiosulfate Na2S2O3 used in fixing photos (formerly hyposulfite)…
• 一波三折yī bō sān zhécalligraphic flourish with many twists; fig. many twists and turns
• 声波shēng bōsound wave
• 余波yú bōaftermath; repercussions; fallout
• 电磁波diàn cí bōelectromagnetic wave

Characters built on 皮

These share the phonetic component 皮 (pí), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 破pòbroken; damaged; worn out
• 玻bōsee 玻璃
• 坡pōslope; sloping; slanted
• 颇pōrather; quite; considerably
• 簸bǒto winnow; to toss up and down
• 跛bǒto limp; lame; crippled

Characters that look like 波

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 彼bǐthat; those; (one) another
• 玻bōsee 玻璃
• 坡pōslope; sloping; slanted
• 拨bōto push aside with the hand, foot, a stick etc; to dial; to allocate
• 披pīto drape over one's shoulders; to open; to unroll
• 驶shǐ(of a vehicle, horse etc) to go fast; to speed; (of a vehicle) to run; to go…

Sounds the same

Read bō, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 播(bound form) to sow (seeds); to spread (ideas, rumors etc)…
• 剥to peel; to skin; to flay
• 拨to push aside with the hand, foot, a stick etc; to dial; to allocate
• 钵small earthenware plate or basin; a monk's alms bowl; Sanskrit paatra
• 般used in 般若
• 啵(onomatopoeia) to bubble
• 菠spinach
• 砵alms bowl
• 盋obscure variant of 钵
• 饽cake; biscuit
• 嶓name of a mountain
• 癶Kangxi radical 105, known as 登字头