背 (bèi) — (noun) back (of the body); (verb) to recite from memory
Definition
As a noun 背 (bèi) means the back of the body or an object's reverse side — concrete physical sense, unlike 后/后面 which mean 'behind' as a position. The same character as a verb means 'to recite from memory'.
noun
back (of the body)
verb
to recite from memory
Easily confused
- 乘chénglook-aliketo ride (a vehicle), to mount
- 被bèisound-alike(preposition) used to mark passive voice, placed before the doer (or directly before the verb if the doer is omitted)
- 乖guāilook-alike(of a child or pet) well-behaved, obedient
- 倍bèisound-alike(classifier) times, -fold (indicates multiplier after a number)
- 北běilook-alikenorth
- 备bèisound-aliketo prepare; to equip
Examples
- 背。Tā de bèi hěn téng.His back hurts a lot.
- 背？Nǐ néng bèi chū zhè shǒu shī ma?Can you recite this poem from memory?
- 背。Tā bèi duì zhe wǒ.He turned his back to me.
Appears in
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