坡

• Pinyin: pō
• Hanzi breakdown: 坡 = 土 (earth) + 皮 (skin, phonetic) — the surface contour of land

Meaning

Slope; hillside; incline. A surface that slants from a higher point to a lower one.

Used for natural slopes (山坡 — hillside), man-made inclines (斜坡 — ramp), or road grades. Common in geographic descriptions and everyday contexts like cycling or driving. The famous Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew's Chinese name 李光耀 is sometimes colloquially associated with 坡 as Singapore is called 新加坡.

Examples

1. 孩子们喜欢在山坡上滚下来玩。 Children like to roll down the hillside for fun.
2. 这条路的坡度太大，骑自行车很费力。 This road has too steep a slope, making cycling very strenuous.
3. 他们在斜坡上修建了一条无障碍通道。 They built an accessible ramp on the slope.

Usage Guide

Context: geography, transportation, daily life

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 这个坡太陡了，小心点。(This slope is too steep, be careful.)
• 走上坡路比下坡累多了。(Walking uphill is much more tiring than downhill.)

Don't Say

• 不要混淆'坡'和'坝' (Don't confuse 坡 slope with 坝 dam — they describe different terrain features)

Origin & History

The character 坡 combines 土 (earth) with 皮 (skin, surface), suggesting the surface contour of land — a slope.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal