Skip to content
Chinese Copilot

抱bàoto hold; to carry (in one's arms)

HSK 4word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

抱 (bào) means "to hold," "to carry (in one's arms)," or "to hug." It describes holding a person or thing close with both arms, as in 抱孩子 (hold a child) and 抱一下 (give a hug). It is a verb often followed by 着, 一下, or a result such as 抱不动.

What does 抱 mean?

  1. 1.

    to hold; to carry (in one's arms)verb

  2. 2.

    to hugverb

What does the character 抱 mean?

  • 抱to hold; to carry (in one's arms)

How do you use 抱?

抱 is for holding with the arms; for holding in the hand, 拿 is used instead.

Patterns

  • 抱 + 一下

    来，让我抱一下。

    Lái, ràng wǒ bào yíxià.

    Come here, let me give you a hug.

What are some examples of 抱 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 2

    妈妈抱着孩子。

    Māma bàozhe háizi.

    Mom is holding the child.

  2. HSK 3

    他们见面的时候抱了一下。

    Tāmen jiànmiàn de shíhou bào le yíxià.

    They hugged when they met.

  3. HSK 4

    这个箱子太重，我抱不动。

    Zhège xiāngzi tài zhòng, wǒ bào bu dòng.

    This box is too heavy for me to carry.

How is 抱 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    宝宝哭了。

    Bǎobao kū le.

    The baby is crying.

  2. Speaker B:

    你抱一下他吧。

    Nǐ bào yíxià tā ba.

    Pick him up for a moment.

  3. Speaker A:

    他不哭了！

    Tā bù kū le!

    He stopped crying!

  4. Speaker B:

    他就是想要人抱。

    Tā jiù shì xiǎng yào rén bào.

    He just wants to be held.

What should you learn next?

Related words

Browse every entry in the Chinese word dictionary.

English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.