How to Write 跋 (bá) — Meaning “to trek; postscript”

Imagine your feet (足) are taking you on a long hike, and a friend named Ba (犮 sounds like "bá") is walking beside you. This visual of trekking with a companion helps link the character to its meaning of traveling on foot.

Write the left side 足 first with 7 strokes: vertical, horizontal fold, horizontal, vertical, horizontal, left-falling, right-falling. Then add the right side 犮 with 5 strokes: horizontal, left-falling, vertical, right-falling. A common mistake is making the 犮 too wide; keep the left side slim and the right side balanced.

跋 means "to trek" or "postscript" and uses the foot radical with 犮. 趵 (bào) means "to leap" and has a right part 勺 that looks like a spoon, as in 趵突泉 (a famous spring). 趸 (dǔn) means "to store in bulk" or "wholesale" and has 万 (ten thousand) on the right, often used in business contexts like 趸批.

跋 appears in the common word 跋涉 (bá shè), meaning "to trek long distances," often used figuratively for a difficult journey. It also appears in 跋文 (bá wén) for a postscript at the end of a book, which in Chinese literary culture is a traditional way for authors or scholars to add closing remarks.

Common words containing 跋 include: 跋涉 (bá shè) — to trek; to trudge; 跋文 (bá wén) — postscript; afterword; 序跋 (xù bá) — preface and postscript.