八
eight
HSK level
- Pinyin
- bā
- Part of speech
- number
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 2
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 1
Stroke order for 八
八 is written with 2 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
What does 八 mean?
八 (bā) is the Chinese number eight.
It's a cardinal numeral used like any other: count items (八个人 'eight people'), tell time (八点 'eight o'clock'), or give dates and prices. Two things English speakers should know: first, 八 is the luckiest number in Chinese culture because bā rhymes with 发 (fā) in 发财 ('get rich'), so license plates, phone numbers, and apartment floors containing 八 sell at a premium and weddings are often scheduled on the 8th; second, in counting sequences 八 stays a first tone, but learners often confuse it with 吧 (ba, a sentence-final particle) or 把 (bǎ, a grammatical marker) — the tone is what keeps them apart. The 2008 Beijing Olympics famously opened at 8:08 pm on 8/8/08 for this reason.
Hear 八 in real episodes
八 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Browse the full episode libraryExample sentences
我有八个朋友。
Wǒ yǒu bā gè péngyǒu.
I have eight friends.
neutral
现在是八点。
Xiànzài shì bā diǎn.
It's eight o'clock now.
spoken
他八月去中国。
Tā bā yuè qù Zhōngguó.
He's going to China in August.
neutral
这个八块钱。
Zhège bā kuài qián.
This is eight yuan.
spoken
Common phrases with 八
Don't confuse 八 with
吧 (neutral tone) is a sentence-final particle for suggestions ('let's...') or soft confirmation. 八 (first tone) is the number eight. Same shape if you squint, but the tone and the 口 radical on 吧 set them apart.
把 (third tone) is a grammatical particle that moves the object before the verb (我把书放了 'I put the book down') and a measure word for things with handles. 八 is just the number.
入 ('enter') looks almost identical to 八 — both have two strokes. 入 has its strokes joined at the top; 八 has them open at the top. A famous beginner trap.
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 八 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
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