How to Use bǎ 把 in Chinese

As a very common and versatile character, bǎ 把 plays a crucial role in Chinese grammar. 把 has several grammatical functions and meanings, including acting as a verb, noun, measure word, and grammatical structure used to emphasize a verb. Whether you are a Chinese-learning beginner or an advanced Chinese speaker, this blog is for you.

Let’s dive into the usages of 把 in Chinese and find out what makes this character so important!

Table of Contents
How to use bǎ 把 as a verb
How to use bǎ 把 as a noun
How to use bǎ 把 as a measure word
10 ways to use bǎ 把 to Emphasize a Verb
Conclusion

bǎ 把 as a verb

While not the most common use of the character, bǎ 把 can be a verb in Chinese. As a verb, bǎ 把 means “to hold”, “to grasp”, or “to control”. For example:

他两手把着球棒。
Tā liǎngshǒu bà zhe qiú bàng.
He holds the bat in both hands.

bǎ 把 as a noun

While also not the most common form of the character, bǎ 把 can be a noun in Chinese too. As a noun, bǎ 把 means “grip”, “handle”, or “stem”.

自行车把坏了。
Zìxíngchē bǎ huàile.
The bike handlebars are broken.

bǎ 把 as a measure word

One of the more common uses of bǎ 把 is as a measure word in Chinese. For example:

今天我带了一把雨伞。
Jīntiān wǒ dàile yī bǎ yǔsǎn.
Today I brought an umbrella.

However, “umbrella” is just one noun for which bǎ 把 is the measure word; many items with a handle or which can be held in the hand also use bǎ 把. Here is a list of nouns that can use bǎ 把 as their measure word:

How to Use the bǎ 把 Structure in Chinese to Emphasize a Verb

Here it is, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… the bǎ 把 structure in Chinese! The bǎ 把 structure in Chinese is used to emphasize the result of the verb (action) of the sentence. You may hear this referred to as “disposal” of the object. While you are not always throwing the object away, something is happening to the object and affecting it in some way.

First, let’s look at a bit of Chinese grammar background. The basic Chinese sentence structure is:
Subject + Verb + Object

For instance:

我吃苹果。
Wǒ chī píngguǒ.
I eat the apple.

The bǎ 把 structure allows us to rearrange the order to:
Subject + 把 + Object + Verb

我把苹果吃了。
Wǒ bǎ píngguǒ chīle.
I ate the apple.

This change in word order emphasizes what happened to the object. In this case, the apples were eaten by me. The focus of the sentence is now the action and how the object was affected.

This grammar structure is very common in Mandarin and is super useful.

1.Using 把 with a Specific Object

As we saw just above, the most basic form of the bǎ 把 structure uses just one object. Here’s another example:

我把水喝了。
Wǒ bǎ shuǐ hēle.
I drank the water.

2.Using 把 with two objects

Now that you are familiar with the most basic bǎ 把 structure, it’s time to add a second object to the sentence.

With certain verbs, sentences using the bǎ 把 structure can have two objects, though you will almost always need a preposition, such as gěi 给, as well.

Common verbs that allow the bǎ 把 structure to have two objects are song 送, ná 拿, dì 递, mài 卖, jiè 借, huán 还, and jièshào 介绍.

Here is what the structure looks like:
Subject + 把 + Object 1 + Verb + Preposition + Object 2

And here are some example sentences with different verbs and prepositions:

我把礼物送给妈妈了。
Wǒ bǎ lǐwù sòng gěi māmāle.
I gave the gift to mom.

她把手机递给她哥哥了。
Tā bǎ shǒujī dì gěi tā gēgēle.
She passed the cell phone to her older brother.

你把苹果卖给小张了。
Nǐ bǎ píngguǒ mài gěi xiǎo zhāngle.
You sold the apples to Xiao Zhang.

他把铅笔借给我朋友了。
Tā bǎ qiānbǐ jiè gěi wǒ péngyǒule.
He lent the pencil to my friend.

马克把她介绍给谁了？
Mǎkè bǎ tā jièshào gěi shéile?
Who did Mark introduce her to?

3.Using bǎ 把 with fang 放

Fang 放 is one of the most common verbs to appear with bǎ 把 in Chinese. Meaning “to put” or “to place”, fang 放 and bǎ 把 nearly always go hand-in-hand when talking about putting things down or in their place.
我把手机放这儿了。
Wǒ bǎ shǒujī fàng zhèr le.
I put the cell phone here.

4.Using bǎ 把 with complements

In case you are not familiar, a complement is a word that comes after a verb and provides additional meaning. Result complements indicate the result of the verb, direction complements indicate the direction of the verb, and so on.

While there are more complement types, for our purposes, we will just focus on complements of result and direction for now.

Result complements in Chinese include (but certainly are not limited to) jiàn 见, dào 到, duì 对, cuò 错, hǎo 好, and wán 完.

Here are some examples:

我把作业做完了。
Wǒ bǎ zuòyè zuò wánle.
I finished my homework.

他把汉字写错了。
Tā bǎ hànzì xiě cuòle.
He wrote the Chinese character wrong.

The basic direction complements in Chinese are lái 来 and qù 去, which can be turned into complex direction complements. Here’s a quick chart of complex direction complements for your reference:

Here are a couple examples of the bǎ 把 structure with complex direction complements in Chinese:

请把课本拿过来。
Qǐng bǎ kèběn ná guòlái.
Please bring the textbook here.

把钱放进去。
Bǎ qián fàng jìnqù.
Put the money in.

5.Using bǎ 把 with chéng 成

While technically chéng 成 is a result complement, it is used often enough with the bǎ* 把 sentence structure in Chinese that we felt it deserved its own section.

When paired with chéng 成, the bǎ* 把 structure can also be used to indicate a change in state when paired with certain verbs.

For example:

我把肉切成块儿。
Wǒ bǎ ròu qièchéng kuài‘r.
I cut the meat into pieces.

她把水改成汤。
Tā bǎ shuǐ gǎichéng tāng.
She turned the water into soup.

把这个文章翻译成英文。
Bǎ zhège wénzhāng fānyìchéng yīngwén.
Translate this essay into English.

6.Using bǎ 把 with dàngzuò 当作, kànzuò 看作, dàngchéng 当成, and kànchéng 看成

The bǎ 把 structure in Chinese can also be used to describe something that is treated or viewed as something else.

很多人把同时当作朋友。
Hěnduō rén bǎ tóngshí dàng zuò péngyǒu.
Many people treat their coworkers as friends.

她把我看作她的老师。
Tā bǎ wǒ kàn zuò tā de lǎoshī.
She sees me as her teacher.

他把你当成他的朋友。
Tā bǎ nǐ dàngchéng tā de péngyǒu.
He treats you as his friend.

他把北京看成家乡。
Tā bǎ běijīng kàn chéng jiāxiāng.
He sees Beijing as his home.

It is important to note that while these bǎ 把 sentences are very similar in meaning, using zuò 作 is slightly more formal than using chéng 成. Additionally, kàn 看 is typically used to describe specific people or objects, while dàng 当 is usually used for abstract things.

7.Using bǎ 把 with adverbs

When modifying a bǎ 把 structure sentence with an adverb, it is most common to put the adverb before either bǎ 把 or the verb.

For certain adverbs, such as dōu 都, where you put the adverb in the sentence changes the meaning slightly. Let’s look at some examples:

我们都把苹果吃了。
Wǒmen dōu bǎ píngguǒ chīle.
We all ate the apples.

我们把苹果都吃了。
Wǒmen bǎ píngguǒ dōu chīle.
We ate all the apples.

8.bǎ 把 in negative sentences

How you write a negative sentence using the bǎ 把 structure in Chinese depends on the verb in the sentence. There are several ways to negate a bǎ 把 sentence, including bùyào 不要, méi (yǒu) 没(有), and bié 别. For example:

我没有把书看完。
Wǒ méiyǒu bǎ shū kàn wán.
I didn’t finish reading the book.

他没把笔还给我。
Tā méi bǎ bǐ hái gěi wǒ.
He didn’t return the pen to me.

你不要把书包放在桌子上。
Nǐ bùyào bǎ shūbāo fàng zài zhuōzi shàng.
Don’t put your backpack on the table.

If you are not sure which character you should use to make your sentence negative, brush up on the differences between bù 不 and méi 没.

9.Using bǎ 把 with gěi 给

A curious feature of the bǎ 把 structure in oral Chinese is its use with the word gěi 给. In these sentences, you are not giving anything to anyone. Rather, you are using gěi 给 to emphasize the verb. (Technically, gěi 给 is optional and can be omitted.)

For example:

我把事情给忘了。
Wǒ bǎ shìqíng gěi wàngle.
I forgot about it.

10.Using bǎ 把 with nòng 弄

It is very common to use the bǎ 把 structure with the verb nòng 弄 (meaning “to play/mess with, to fix”). However, when bǎ 把 and nòng 弄 are used together, it is always to talk about something being destroyed, damaged, or otherwise ruined.

For example:

我把手机弄坏了。
Wǒ bǎ shǒujī nòng huàile.
I broke the cell phone.

别把你的衣服弄脏了。
Bié bǎ nǐ de yīfú nòng zāng le.
Don’t get your clothes dirty.

Conclusion

As we have seen, the Chinese character bǎ 把 is a versatile and indispensable one. Bǎ 把 not only plays the role of several different parts of speech, but the bǎ 把 grammar structure is a very common one used to express a change to an object. While bǎ 把 may appear challenging, it is a crucial, useful character in Chinese. But never fear--with practice, you too will be able to use bǎ 把 in Chinese with ease.

If you want to learn more about bǎ 把 or to practice using it, sign up for online Chinese classes.

About the Author

Eden has been learning Chinese since 2008. She fell in love with the language, food, and culture and never looked back! Eden lived in China for six years, including in Harbin, Beijing, and Dali.