Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Action & Movement

包: wrap, pack up

Also: cover, conceal

JLPT N25 strokesGrade 4Your ink: 白 Not met

勹 carries the meaning · 己 is drawn in

5 strokes

Two readings, and the words that use each

ホウhou · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 包帯ほうたいbandage
  • 包丁ほうちょうkitchen knife, carving knife
  • 包装紙ほうそうしwrapping paper
  • 包括的なほうかつてきなcomprehensive
  • 包囲するほういするkeep under siege, encircle
  • 包含するほうがんするinclude, implicate
  • 包装するほうそうするpack, wrap
  • 梱包するこんぽうするpack for shipping [v.t.]

つつむtsutsumu · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 包むつつむwrap up, pack
  • 包みつつみbundle, package, parcel, bale
  • 小包こづつみparcel, package

Also read くるむ, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Origin · sourced

Pictogram (象形)

A fetus (巳) in the womb (勹), or a swaddled baby. Shuowen gives both interpretations.

Source: Wiktionary, 包 (rev. 92200035), CC BY-SA 4.0

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“The base kanji for wrapping, originally depicting a fetus "enveloped" in the womb—the ultimate symbol of containment and protection.”
From the 勹 to wrap story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
勹

Also built on to wrap (勹)

All 8
己

Also built on self (己)

All 12

包 gives its sound to

The family reading is ホウ (hou). Sound parts: KanjiVG.

Also read ホウ

33 kanji share this on'yomiAll 33

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
包 wrap · 勹
vs妃 queen · 女
包 has 勹 where 妃 has 女.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · bāo

Same form: 包 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).

Simplified
包 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
包 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin bāo most common reading

Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.

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