How to Write 剥 (bāo/bō) — Meaning “to peel; to shell; to strip”

Imagine you are peeling an apple and you use a knife (刂) to record (录) every strip of skin you remove. The left part 录 looks like a series of vertical lines, like the strips of peel falling. This connects the visual of recording strips with the action of peeling.

Pay attention to the left side 录: it is written with 8 strokes, ending with a downward-left stroke and a downward-right stroke that should not cross the vertical line. The knife radical 刂 on the right should be slightly narrower and placed close to the left, with the vertical line straight and the small horizontal stroke at the top.

剥 means to peel or strip off an outer layer, like fruit skin or bark, and uses the knife radical. 刮 means to scrape a surface (e.g., scrape paint) and has the radical 舌 (tongue) on the left. 到 means to arrive and has the radical 至 (arrive) on the left; it is completely unrelated in meaning. Visually, 剥 has 录, 刮 has 舌, and 到 has 至 on the left.

剥 appears in common words like 剥皮 (bāo pí, to peel skin) for fruits and animals, and in formal terms like 剥削 (bō xuē, exploitation) which is an important Marxist concept in Chinese political education. The character has two pronunciations: bāo for simple, everyday actions, and bō for compound words. Knowing 剥削 helps understand historical and economic discussions in Chinese texts.

Common words containing 剥 include: 剥削 (bō xuē) — to exploit; exploitation; 剥离 (bō lí) — To strip; to peel off; to detach; 剥皮 (bāo pí) — to skin; to peel off the skin.