How to Write 坝 (bà) — Meaning “dam / embankment”

Imagine a dam made of earth (土) that is so strong that even a giant clam (贝, which looks like a shell) cannot break it. Or think: "Earth (土) piled up like a shell (贝) to block water." This links the left and right parts to the concept of a dam.

Write the left radical 土 with three strokes: horizontal, vertical, then horizontal. The right side 贝 has four strokes: vertical, horizontal fold, horizontal, and a short hook or stroke. A common mistake is writing 贝 (shell) too narrow or confusing it with 见 (jiàn, to see), which has a wider opening at the bottom.

坝 has 土 on the left and 贝 on the right, while 圣 (shèng, holy) has 又 (again) on top of 土. 圤 (pǔ, a type of mound) has 土 on the left and 卜 (divination) on the right. Visually, 坝 uses the shell-like 贝, whereas 圣 and 圤 use different right-side components.

坝 is commonly used in words like 大坝 (dà bà, large dam) and 水坝 (shuǐ bà, water dam) for hydraulic engineering. China's famous Three Gorges Dam is called 三峡大坝 (Sānxiá Dàbà). The word 坪坝 (píng bà) refers to a level plain or small flat area, often used in geography.

Common words containing 坝 include: 大坝 (dà bà) — Dam; 水坝 (shuǐ bà) — Dam; 坪坝 (píng bà) — level ground / small plain.