How to Write 玻 (bō) — Meaning “glass”

Picture a king (王) wearing a transparent skin (皮) made of glass. This weird image of a "king with glass skin" helps you link the left and right parts to the meaning of glass.

Write the left radical 王 first with three horizontal strokes and one vertical stroke, then the right side 皮 starting with a horizontal hook stroke. A common mistake is making the right side too narrow or forgetting the hook on the first stroke of 皮.

The main difference is the right side: 玻 has 皮 on the right, while 玓 has 勺 (spoon) and 玖 has 久 (long time). Also, 玻 is used only for "glass" in modern Chinese, whereas 玓 and 玖 are rare and mostly found in old texts.

玻 is almost always used in the compound word 玻璃 (bō lí), which means "glass" as a material. You will see it in everyday items like 玻璃杯 (glass cup) and 玻璃窗 (glass window). There is no special cultural meaning; it is simply the standard word for glass.

Common words containing 玻 include: 玻璃 (bō lí) — glass; 玻璃杯 (bō lí bēi) — glass cup / tumbler; 玻璃窗 (bō lí chuāng) — glass window.