Chinese word

趴

Pronunciation

Pinyinpā

Meaning

  • verblie on one's stomach

Example

他在床上趴着看书。tā zài chuáng shàng pā zhe kàn shū

He is lying on his stomach on the bed and reading a book.

Illustration for 趴 (lie on one's stomach)

More examples

猫在阳光下趴着打盹。māo zài yáng guāng xià pā zhe dá dǔn

The cat is lying on its stomach in the sun and dozing.

Core concept

A low forward posture places the chest or belly against the ground, a bed, or another supporting surface.

Common phrases

  • 趴在沙发上pā zài shā fā shàng

    lie on one's stomach on the sofa

  • 趴着看书pā zhe kàn shū

    read a book lying on one's stomach

Similar words

趴下pā xià: Lie down on the stomach, often as a short spoken instruction.
俯卧fǔ wò: Lie face down, especially in formal or written descriptions.
躺下tǎng xià: Lie down on a bed or floor to rest or sleep.

Definition in Chinese

常用动词，表示人或动物将身体向前压低，使胸腹贴住地面或床等，从而处于腹部着地的姿势或动作。cháng yòng dòng cí biǎo shì rén huò dòng wù jiāng shēn tǐ xiàng qián yā dī shǐ xiōng fù tiē zhù dì miàn huò chuáng děng cóng ér chǔ yú fù bù zhe dì de zī shì huò dòng zuò

Word origin

The character 趴 (pā, "lie on one's stomach") uses 足 (zú, "foot") + 八 (bā, "eight"), linking a bodily-action meaning with an approximate pronunciation clue.

Usage tips

  • In conversation, this short verb can work as a direct posture instruction, while a fuller sentence can present the same posture as background to another action.

Other meanings

  • lie flatverb

Opposites

  • 仰卧yǎng wòlie on one's backverb

Related words

  • 趴下pā xiàlie down on one's stomachverb

Word lists with this word