How to Write 趴 (pā) — Meaning “to lie on one's stomach; to lean over”

Imagine a person lying flat on their stomach with their legs spread apart, like the shape of the number eight (八). The radical 足 on the left reminds you that the legs and feet are involved, so you can picture "feet (足) spread like an eight (八) while lying down." This visual helps connect the character to the meaning of lying on your stomach.

Pay attention to the left radical 足: it has a narrow, upright shape, and the last stroke is a horizontal line that should not extend too far right. The right part 八 must be written with the first stroke (a left-falling stroke) slightly curved, then a right-falling stroke that crosses below the left side. A common mistake is making the 八 too wide or disconnected from the left radical.

足 (zú) alone means "foot" and is a self-standing character, while 趴 uses 足 as a radical and means "to lie on one's stomach." 趵 (bào) means "to kick" or "to stamp" and is very rare; visually, 趵 has the phonetic 勺 (sháo) instead of 八, so they look different. Unlike 趴, 趵 is not used in common words like "lying down."

趴 is used to describe lying flat on your stomach, such as when resting or hiding (e.g., 趴下 pā xià, "get down"). It is also used for leaning over something, like a desk (趴在桌上 pā zài zhuō shàng, "to lean over the table"). In Chinese culture, this character often appears in commands for safety drills or in descriptions of relaxed postures.

Common words containing 趴 include: 趴下 (pā xià) — to lie down; to get down; 趴着 (pā zhe) — lying on one's stomach; 趴在桌上 (pā zài zhuō shàng) — to lean over the table; to lie on the desk.