趴

• Pinyin: pā
• Hanzi breakdown: 趴 = 足 (foot/leg radical) + 八 (to divide/split) — legs splayed, body forward onto the ground

Meaning

To lie face down; to lean forward with the chest resting on a surface; to prostrate.

Describes the posture of lying with the front of the body facing down or leaning heavily against a surface. Common in descriptions of exhaustion (趴在桌上睡着), hiding (趴在地上), or physical examination. Colloquial and vivid.

Examples

1. 课后她精疲力竭，直接趴在书桌上睡着了，连晚饭都忘记吃。 After class she was completely exhausted and fell asleep with her face on the desk, even forgetting to eat dinner.
2. 孩子们趴在围栏边，踮起脚尖争先恐后地向里张望，想看清笼子里的动物。 The kids leaned over the railing, up on their tiptoes, craning to look inside and get a clear view of the animals in the cages.
3. 士兵接到命令后立刻趴下隐蔽，借助草丛的掩护悄悄向目标位置匍匐前进。 As soon as the soldiers received the order, they dropped down to take cover and used the grass for concealment as they crawled quietly toward the target position.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, physical description, military, children

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 他连续熬夜三天完成了项目报告，最终体力不支，趴在会议室的桌子上沉沉睡去，同事们见状都不忍心打扰他。(Having stayed up for three nights in a row to finish the project report, he finally ran out of energy and fell into a deep sleep face-down on the meeting room table — colleagues who saw this could not bear to disturb him.)
• 孩子趴在窗台上，眼巴巴地望着窗外的雪地，恳切地问妈妈能不能带他出去堆雪人。(The child leaned forward against the windowsill, gazing longingly at the snowy ground outside and earnestly asking his mother whether she could take him out to build a snowman.)

Don't Say

• 将'趴'用于描述侧卧或仰卧，如'他趴着睡觉，很舒服' — 趴 specifically means lying face-down (prone position); for side-sleeping use 侧躺, for lying on one's back use 仰躺 or 躺

Origin & History

趴 = 足 (foot) + 八 (eight/divide) — a person split forward onto the ground; the character is relatively modern and phonosemantic

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal