保护
to protect; protection
HSK level
- Pinyin
- bǎohù
- Part of speech
- verb
- Level
- HSK 4
- Strokes
- 16
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 3
Stroke order for 保护
保护 is written with 16 strokes (保: 9, 护: 7). The animation replays automatically.
What does 保护 mean?
保护 (bǎohù) is a verb meaning 'to protect,' 'to safeguard,' or 'to defend from harm,' and it doubles as the noun 'protection.'
It covers protecting people, animals, the environment, rights, and objects: 保护环境 ('protect the environment'), 保护孩子 ('protect the children'). Unlike English, where 'protect' and 'protection' are separate words, 保护 serves both functions unchanged, so 环境保护 simply reverses the order to form the noun phrase. 保护 implies active shielding from danger or damage, not mere maintenance — for keeping something in good condition you would use 保养 or 维护.
It is neutral in register and extremely common in news, signage, law, and daily conversation. The object usually follows directly: 保护 + [what you protect].
Note: Neutral and versatile; used from everyday speech ('protect your eyes') to formal contexts ('environmental protection,' 'consumer protection'). It can also serve as a noun without any change in form.
Character by character
Memory hook: Two guarding characters, 保 and 护, doubled up: keep-and-guard something safe.
Hear 保护 in real episodes
保护 appears in 3 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Example sentences
我们应该保护环境。
Wǒmen yīnggāi bǎohù huánjìng.
We should protect the environment.
neutral
父母总是想保护自己的孩子。
Fùmǔ zǒngshì xiǎng bǎohù zìjǐ de háizi.
Parents always want to protect their own children.
neutral
戴太阳镜可以保护眼睛。
Dài tàiyángjìng kěyǐ bǎohù yǎnjing.
Wearing sunglasses can protect your eyes.
spoken
这项法律用来保护消费者的权利。
Zhè xiàng fǎlǜ yònglái bǎohù xiāofèizhě de quánlì.
This law is used to protect consumers' rights.
written
Common phrases with 保护
Synonyms
维护 ('to maintain / uphold') is used for abstract things like order, rights, or someone's reputation, and stresses keeping something in good standing. 保护 stresses shielding from concrete harm or danger.
保卫 ('to defend militarily') carries a stronger sense of defending against attack — 保卫祖国 ('defend the motherland'). 保护 is gentler and everyday, used for people, nature, and health.
Don't confuse 保护 with
保持 means 'to keep / maintain (a state)' — 保持安静 ('keep quiet'). It does not mean shielding from harm. 保护 is about defending; 保持 is about sustaining a condition.
保存 means 'to preserve / store' (files, food, records). 保护 defends from danger, while 保存 keeps something from being lost or spoiled.
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
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