How to Write 雹 (báo) — Meaning “Hail”

Picture a rain cloud (雨) wrapping (包) small balls of ice that fall as hail. You can also think of the bottom part 包 as a "bag" that the rain uses to carry ice chunks down to earth.

Write the radical 雨 first as a wide horizontal shape, then the bottom 包 starts with a short left-falling stroke (丿) followed by a horizontal hook (㇆) and the inner 巳 (sì) stroke. A common mistake is making the 雨 radical too narrow or forgetting the inner dot of 雨, which changes the meaning. Remember that 雹 has 13 strokes total.

雹 has 包 (wrap) at the bottom, while 雪 (xuě) has 彐 (a hand-like shape), and 雩 (yú) has 于 (yú). In meaning, 雹 is specifically "hail" (frozen rain), 雪 is "snow", and 雩 is a rare character for a rain-making ritual. Visually, look at the bottom part: 包 for ice balls, 彐 for snow, 于 for a ritual platform.

雹 appears in weather reports and news about severe storms, especially in the common word 冰雹 (bīng báo, hail). The word 雹灾 (báo zāi) describes a hail disaster that can destroy crops. In Chinese culture, hail is often seen as a destructive natural phenomenon, and farmers may use anti-hail rockets or nets to protect their fields.

Common words containing 雹 include: 冰雹 (bīng báo) — Hail; 雹灾 (báo zāi) — Hail disaster; 下雹子 (xià báo zi) — to hail.