How to Write 爬 (pá) — Meaning “To climb / To crawl”

Imagine a cat (爪 for claws) trying to climb up a wall, but it keeps slipping down the side of the brick (巴 looks like a brick or a block). The cat uses its claws to grip the brick and climb — that’s 爬.

The top component 爪 must be written with the first stroke as a short left-falling stroke, then a dot, then a vertical stroke, and finally a hook. A common mistake is writing 巴 too wide or confusing it with 巳 (sì) — remember 巴 has a fully closed bottom and a small tail sticking out to the left.

爬 uses 爪 on top with 巴 below, meaning climb or crawl. 爯 (chēng) has 爫 (claw) over 冂 and 一, meaning to lift or praise, but it is very rare. 爰 (yuán) has 爫 over 又, meaning to lead or change, and is used in classical texts. Unlike 爬, both 爯 and 爰 are not common in daily Chinese.

爬 is most often used in 爬山 (pá shān, to climb a mountain or go hiking), a very popular leisure activity in China. It also appears in 爬行 (pá xíng, to crawl) for babies or animals, and 爬树 (pá shù, to climb a tree). Culturally, 爬山 is a common weekend group activity that also symbolizes perseverance.

Common words containing 爬 include: 爬山 (pá shān) — To climb a mountain / Hiking; 爬行 (pá xíng) — To crawl / To creep; 爬树 (pá shù) — To climb a tree.