How to Write 疤 (bā) — Meaning “scar”

Imagine a scar on your arm that looks like the letter "B" — then picture the illness radical 疒 as a bandage covering it. The right part 巴 resembles a small person with a scar on their cheek, because "bā" sounds like "bar" and scars are often bar-shaped.

Write the 疒 radical first: dot, horizontal stroke, left-falling stroke, dot, then a short lift (or dot followed by horizontal? Actually it's dot, horizontal, left-falling, dot, then a vertical lift? In practice, the standard order is: 点,横,撇,点,提). Then add 巴: horizontal fold, vertical, horizontal, vertical hook. A common mistake is making the 疒 radical too wide or forgetting the dot inside it.

疤 means a scar — a healed mark on the skin. In contrast, 疔 (dīng) refers to a deep, painful boil or furuncle, and 疖 (jiē) is a small superficial boil. Visually, 疤 has the phonetic 巴, while 疔 has 丁 (nail) and 疖 has 节 (knot) inside the 疒 radical.

疤 is used for physical scars from cuts, burns, or surgery, e.g., 伤疤 (shāng bā) and 疤痕 (bā hén). Culturally, the idiom 揭伤疤 (jiē shāng bā) means "to expose old wounds" — often used metaphorically for bringing up painful memories. Avoid using 疤 for unrelated skin conditions like pimples.

Common words containing 疤 include: 疤痕 (bā hén) — scar; 伤疤 (shāng bā) — Scar.; 结疤 (jié bā) — To form a scar..