How to Write 佰 (bǎi) — Meaning “Hundred (formal)”

Think of a "person" (亻) standing next to a "hundred" sign (百) to represent a formal, official hundred. You can also imagine a bank teller (person) counting a stack of 100 yuan notes (佰). The key is linking the person radical with the idea of official or financial use.

Write the left radical 亻 first: a short left-falling stroke (撇), then a vertical stroke (竖). Then on the right, write 百: first a horizontal stroke, then a left-falling stroke inside, followed by a horizontal fold (横折), two small horizontals, and finally the vertical stroke down the middle. Common mistakes include making the 亻 too wide or forgetting the small horizontal stroke inside 百.

佰 (bǎi) means "hundred (formal)" and has the right part 百, while 仰 (yǎng) means "look up" and has 卬 (ancient seal) on the right, and 仲 (zhòng) means "middle" or "second" and has 中 on the right. Visually, 佰's right side is wider with a square enclosure (百), whereas 仰 has a taller, open right part and 仲 has a clear 中 inside.

佰 is the formal character for "hundred" and appears on banknotes, checks, and legal documents to prevent alteration — for example, 佰元 on a check means "100 yuan" officially. A famous cultural reference is the Taiwanese singer Wu Bai (伍佰), whose stage name means "five hundred" and uses 佰 for its formal, cool sound.

Common words containing 佰 include: 伍佰 (wǔ bǎi) — Five hundred (formal); also a famous singer's name; 佰元 (bǎi yuán) — One hundred yuan (formal); 仟佰 (qiān bǎi) — thousands and hundreds.