How to Write 珀 (pò) — Meaning “amber”

Think of a king (王) holding a piece of white (白) amber. Alternatively, imagine a white jade-like stone that is actually amber, and the character visually combines those two elements.

Write the left radical 王 with strokes: horizontal, horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Then add 白 on the right: left-falling stroke, vertical, horizontal fold, horizontal. Keep the left side narrow and the right side slightly wider; a common mistake is making the 白 part too tall.

珀 (pò) means amber and has 白 (white) on the right. 玓 (dì) refers to the luster of pearls and has 勺 (spoon) on the right. 玖 (jiǔ) means a black jade or the number nine and has 久 (long) on the right. Their right components and meanings are entirely different.

珀 appears almost exclusively in the word 琥珀 (hǔ pò, amber) and in the name 珀斯 (pò sī, the Australian city Perth). Amber is valued in jewelry and traditional Chinese medicine, while 珀斯 is a geographical proper noun.

Common words containing 珀 include: 琥珀 (hǔ pò) — Amber; 琥珀色 (hǔ pò sè) — Amber color; 珀斯 (pò sī) — Perth.