芭 (bā) — (bound morpheme) used in 芭蕉 and in transliterat…

Definition

Bound form (bā) — has no standalone meaning; only appears in 芭蕉 (banana plant) and loanwords like 芭蕾 (ballet) and 芭比 (Barbie).

bound form

(bound morpheme) used in 芭蕉 and in transliterations

Easily confused

芭。
Nán fāng rén xǐ huan yòng bā jiāo yè bāo zòng zi.
Southerners like to wrap zongzi with banana leaves.
。
Tā xué le shí nián bā lěi wǔ.
She studied ballet for ten years.
芭。
Nà ge xiǎo nǚ hái de shēng rì lǐ wù shì yí gè bā bǐ wá wa.
That little girl's birthday gift was a Barbie doll.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

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

艹巴芭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

巴

Same sound today

芭 pairs 艹, the grass top, with 巴 below to supply the sound.