Kilo Lingo

(bào lì) - violence; violent in Mandarin

bào

Traditional: 暴力

#2022 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

violence; violent

Word origin

A compound of 暴 (bào, violent, sudden) and 力 (lì, force, strength).

Origin
compound
Root
暴 (bào, violent) + 力 (lì, force)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 暴

Stroke order for 力

Examples

I am against violence of any kind.

There is too much violence in this film.

Violence will not solve the problem.

The police said it was a violent incident.

Children should not witness domestic violence.

暴力 (bàolì) is violence in the abstract, institutional sense: the thing news reports and laws talk about. 家庭暴力 (jiātíng bàolì) is domestic violence, 暴力事件 (bàolì shìjiàn) a violent incident.

It works as a noun and, before another noun, as a modifier, but it is not the word for a violent-tempered person. Someone who loses their temper is 脾气暴躁 (píqì bàozào), not 暴力.

Note the first character. 暴 is bào here, but the same character reads pù in the older sense of exposing something to the sun, so a dictionary lookup can throw two readings at you.

Where this fits

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue

Mandarin · Free printables

暴力: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "暴力" (violence; violent): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

Free for members

The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.

Start your free week

This word is part of lesson 41.