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宝藏 (bǎo zàng) — (precious) mineral deposits; hidden treasure; (figurative) treasure; valuable resources (e.g., knowledge, culture, wisdom); (Buddhism) the treasure of Buddha's law; Dharma treasure

Definition

宝藏 stresses what is HIDDEN or untapped — buried riches, mineral deposits, or figurative cultural/wisdom resources waiting to be discovered. 宝库 is the place that stores them; 瑰宝 is a single prized item already known.

noun
(precious) mineral depositshidden treasure(figurative) treasurevaluable resources (e.g., knowledge, culture, wisdom)(Buddhism) the treasure of Buddha's lawDharma treasure

Examples

  • 宝藏。
    Tā men zài hǎi dǐ fā xiàn le yí chù bǎo zàng.
    They discovered a treasure at the bottom of the sea.
  • 宝藏，。
    Tú shū guǎn shì zhī shi de bǎo zàng, zhí dé hǎo hǎo lì yòng.
    The library is a treasure of knowledge; it's worth making good use of.
  • 宝藏。
    Zhè zuò gǔ chéng yōng yǒu fēng fù de wén huà bǎo zàng.
    This ancient city possesses abundant cultural treasures.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

宝bǎoprecious
藏cángstore

宝 precious and 藏 store combine as a precious store, meaning hidden treasure.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 寶; 宝 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀miánhouse
  • 琡琡chùjade
  • 貝貝bèicowry

The traditional form 寶 shows 宀 (house), 琡 (jade), and 貝 (cowry), drawn together as treasures in a house.

Open 宝 →

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
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
臧
臧zāng藏cáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

藏 is made from 艸 (grass) and 臧, where 臧 gives the sound.

Open 藏 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Miscellaneous Objects

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.