把

Stroke order

把 (Kangxi radical 64, 手+4, 7 strokes, cangjie input 手日山 (QAU), four-corner 5701₇, composition ⿰扌巴)

• 𠴙, 𬇫, 𱴃, 𥺕, 𨁩, 𥖖, 𫽶, 𱽩, 筢, 𰌅, 𱡓

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 420, character 21
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 11874
• Dae Jaweon: page 768, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1845, character 4
• Unihan data for U+628A

Historical forms of the character 把
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *praːʔ) : semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 巴 (OC *praː).

把

1. to hold; to grasp; to take

   把握  ―  bǎwò  ―  to grasp; to control; to master

   媽媽手把手教我寫字。 [MSC, trad.]
   妈妈手把手教我写字。 [MSC, simp.]

   Māma shǒubǎshǒu jiào wǒ xiězì. [Pinyin]

   My mom held my hand and taught me to write.

   • 縱有健婦把鋤犁，禾生隴畝無東西。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     纵有健妇把锄犁，禾生陇亩无东西。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 8th century, 杜甫 (Du Fu), 《兵車行》 (The Army Wagons: A Ballad); translated by Stephen Owen

     Zòng yǒu jiànfù bǎ chúlí, hé shēng lǒngmǔ wú dōngxī. [Pinyin]

     Even though there are sturdy wives to hold the hoe and plow, the grain grows on the field boundary slopes and one can’t tell east from west.

2. to control; to dominate

   把控  ―  bǎkòng  ―  to control

3. to guard; to have control over

   把守  ―  bǎshǒu  ―  to guard; to defend

   把門／把门  ―  bǎmén  ―  to guard a door or gate

   • 令人傳我的號令去，著下將軍韓厥，把住府門，不搜進去的，只搜出來的。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     令人传我的号令去，着下将军韩厥，把住府门，不搜进去的，只搜出来的。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Yuan Dynasty, Ji Junxiang, The Orphan of Zhao

     Lìng rén chuán wǒ de hàolìng qù, zhuó xiàjiāngjūn Hán Jué, bǎ zhù fǔmén, bù sōu jìnqù de, zhǐ sōu chūlái de. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

4. (colloquial) to be close; to be near
5. to hold a baby while it relieves itself

   把尿  ―  bǎniào  ―  to hold a baby while it urinates

6. (traditional Chinese medicine) to feel (for the pulse)

   我替施主把把脈。 [MSC, trad.]
   我替施主把把脉。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ tì shīzhǔ bǎ bǎmài. [Pinyin]

   Let me feel the pulse for you.

7. A light verb or preposition placed before the object of a sentence to allow it to be placed before the verb, giving greater flexibility in complex sentence construction.

   他把刀放在桌子上。 [MSC, trad. and simp.]

   Tā bǎ dāo fàng zài zhuōzi shàng. [Pinyin]

   He put the knife on the table.

8. Used before a “subject + verb + complement” structure; to cause to; to make

   真的把我氣死了！ [MSC, trad.]
   真的把我气死了！ [MSC, simp.]

   Zhēnde bǎ wǒ qìsǐ le! [Pinyin]

   It really made me so mad!

9. bundle; bunch

   火把  ―  huǒbǎ  ―  torch (stick with a flame on one end)

10. handle; knob; grip (a part of an object which is held in the hand)

    車把／车把  ―  chēbǎ  ―  handlebar (of a bicycle)

    刀把  ―  dāobà  ―  knife handle; hilt

11. stem (of a flower, leaf, fruit, etc.)

    葉把兒／叶把儿  ―  yèbàr  ―  stem of a leaf

12. Classifier for objects that can be held using handles or knobs, such as guns, chairs, brooms, or umbrellas. ⇒ all nouns using this classifier

    三把刀  ―  sān bǎ dāo  ―  three knives

    四把鉸剪／四把铰剪 [Cantonese]  ―  sei³ baa² gaau³ zin² [Jyutping]  ―  four pairs of scissors

    一把刀囝 [Eastern Min, trad. and simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 [Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects], Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1677

    siŏh bā dŏ̤-giāng / [suoʔ⁵ pa³³ to⁵⁵⁻⁵³ ^(k-)iaŋ³³] [Bàng-uâ-cê / IPA]

    a pocketknife

    兩把掃把／两把扫把  ―  liǎng bǎ sǎobǎ  ―  two brooms

13. Classifier for handfuls of something, such as grains, soil.

    一把米  ―  yī bǎ mǐ  ―  a handful of rice

    一把糖果  ―  yī bǎ tángguǒ  ―  a handful of candy

14. Classifier for bundles or bunches.

    一把鮮花／一把鲜花  ―  yī bǎ xiānhuā  ―  a bunch of flowers

    一把韭菜  ―  yī bǎ jiǔcài  ―  a bunch of garlic chives

15. Classifier for fire.

    點一把火／点一把火  ―  diǎn yī bǎ huǒ  ―  to light a fire

16. Classifier for some abstract ideas, such as force, effort or age.

    加把勁兒！／加把劲儿！  ―  Jiā bǎ jìnr!  ―  Make an extra effort!

    一把年紀／一把年纪  ―  yī bǎ niánjì  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

17. Classifier for something done with the hand.

    幫你一把／帮你一把  ―  bāng nǐ yī bǎ  ―  to give you a helping hand

18. Classifier for times of recreations.

    過把癮／过把瘾  ―  guò bǎ yǐn  ―  to satisfy a craving

    打把麻將／打把麻将  ―  dǎ bǎ májiāng  ―  to play mahjong

    玩兩把牌／玩两把牌  ―  wán liǎng bǎ pái  ―  to play card games

    打幾把遊戲／打几把游戏  ―  dǎ jǐ bǎ yóuxì  ―  to play video games

    汏把浴 [Shanghainese, trad. and simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 [Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects], Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1675

    ⁶da ⁵po ⁸yoq [Wugniu]

    to bathe

19. (Xiamen and Quanzhou Hokkien) Classifier for wheeled vehicles.

    一把跤踏車 [Hokkien, trad.]
    一把跤踏车 [Hokkien, simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 [Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects], Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1677

    chi̍t pé kha-ta̍h-chhia [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

    a bicycle

20. Placed after numerals or classifiers to express uncertainty; approximately

    個把月／个把月  ―  ge bǎ yuè  ―  approximately a month

    十把日 [Eastern Min, trad. and simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 [Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects], Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1677

    sĕk bā nĭk / [sɛiʔ⁵ pa³³ nˡiʔ⁵] [Bàng-uâ-cê / IPA]

    approximately ten days

    隻把人 [Northern Min, trad.]
    只把人 [Northern Min, simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 [Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects], Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1676

    ciă bǎ nêng [Kienning Colloquial Romanized]

    several people

21. (archaic or dialectal Mandarin, Gan, Xiang) to give

    把壓歲錢／把压岁钱 [Gan]  ―  ba³ 'ngat⁶ sui⁴ qien² [Wiktionary]  ―  to give money (to children) during the Chinese New Year

    把本書你 [Xiang, trad.]
    把本书你 [Xiang, simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 [Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects], Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1675

    ba³ ben³ xy¹ nyi³ [Wiktionary]

    to give you a book

    把我一本書 [Yangzhou Mandarin, trad.]
    把我一本书 [Yangzhou Mandarin, simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 [Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects], Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1672

    to give me a book

    • 虞家小廝又悄悄的從後門叫了一個賣草的，把他四個錢。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
      虞家小厮又悄悄的从后门叫了一个卖草的，把他四个钱。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

      From: Wu Jingzi, The Scholars, 1750 CE

      Yú jiā xiǎosī yòu qiāoqiāo de cóng hòumén jiào le yī ge mài cǎo de, bǎ tā sì ge qián. [Pinyin]

      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

22. (Xiang) to; with (following verbs to indicate the handing over or passing of something)

    借把他十塊錢 [Xiang, trad.]
    借把他十块钱 [Xiang, simp.]

    From: 2002, 李榮 (Li Rong), chief editor, 《現代漢語方言大詞典》 [Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects], Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Publishing House, →ISBN, page 1675

    to lend ten yuan to him

23. a surname

 

Wikipedia has articles on:

• 把字句 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
• bǎ construction (English)

• A great deal of linguistic research has been carried out regarding the grammar of the "bǎ construction".

• (to control):

• (to be close):

• (light verb or preposition):

• (handle): 柄 (bǐng)
• (classifier):

• (to give):

• (to; with): 給／给 (gěi)