TongTong
Sign in

打包 (dǎ bāo) — to pack up; to wrap (for moving, storage, etc.); to pack leftovers for takeout (at a restaurant); (computing) to package (files into an archive)

Definition

A separable verb focused on bundling things into a pack or file (leftovers, belongings, software). 包装 is the formal noun for packaging material; 拆 is its opposite (to unpack).

verb
to pack upto wrap (for moving, storage, etc.)to pack leftovers for takeout (at a restaurant)(computing) to package (files into an archive)

Examples

  • ，打包。
    Fú wù yuán, shèng xià de cài qǐng bāng wǒ dǎ bāo.
    Waiter, please pack the leftover food for me.
  • ，。
    Tā bān jiā de shí hou, bǎ yī fu dǎ le sān gè bāo.
    When he moved, he packed the clothes into three bundles.
  • 打包。
    Nǐ kě yǐ yòng zhè ge chéng xù bǎ zhào piàn dǎ bāo.
    You can use this program to package the photos.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

打dǎpack
包bāopackage

打 means to pack or tie, and 包 is the package; together they mean to pack into a package.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 包 pictures a fetus in a womb, or a baby wrapped in cloth.

Open 包 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 6Dining & Restaurants5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.