八
bāXiamen
The English word "eight" is translated into Chinese as 八 (bā).
Meaning: cardinal number 8 (num)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 八 | bā | Xiamen | |
| 八 | peh, poeh, pat | /pueʔ⁵³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Nan'an, Hui'an, Changtai, Taipei, Lukang, Kinmen, Philippines, Singapore, Klang, Sinological IPA, Sanxia, Magong, Hsinchu, Yongchun) /pueʔ³²/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Nan'an, Hui'an, Changtai, Taipei, Lukang, Kinmen, Philippines, Singapore, Klang, Sinological IPA, Sanxia, Magong, Hsinchu, Yongchun, Yongchun) |
Hokkien, Xiamen |
The word is used as the cardinal number 8. It can also function as a noun to refer to the digit or figure 8.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Teochew dialect, the word Bah (八 / 巴) is used to refer to the number eight. For the Xiamen dialect of Hokkien, the form 八 is used. The Dungan form for eight is ба.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation for 八 is bā.
Did you know?
- The 2008 Beijing Olympics began precisely at 8 minutes past 8 p.m. on August 8, 2008.
- In Cantonese, the number 八 is used in the slang term 八卦, which refers to gossiping or being nosy.
- The character 八 began as a pictogram of two bent lines meaning 'to divide'. It was only later borrowed to mean 'eight' because the words sounded the same.
Examples in context
- 现在八点钟。It's eight o'clock.The sentence is useful for stating the time using 八.Tatoeba #4265167 by notabene, translation #2714675 by sundown
- 我八點起床。I wake up at eight.The sentence is useful for describing a specific time of day using 八.Tatoeba #6486887 by xjjAstrus, translation #7798499 by sharris123
- 八减四得四。Eight minus four is four.The sentence is useful for performing a simple subtraction math problem using 八.Tatoeba #7772581 by jiangche, translation #6616411 by shekitten
- Wǒ jiā yǒu bā gè rén. (我家有八个人。)There are eight people in my family.
- Huìyì zǎo shàng bā diǎn kāi shǐ. (会议早上八点开始。)The meeting starts at eight o'clock.
- Wǒ jīntiān wǎnshang bā diǎn hé nǐ jiànmiàn. (我今天晚上八点和你见面。)I'll meet you at eight tonight.
- 71 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing how many apples to buy at a market.
- 佳怡 Jiayi我们要买几个苹果？Guan-lún beh bé kúi ê píng-guó?How many apples do we need to buy?
- 俊杰 Junjie买八个就够了。Bé pue̍h ê chiū kòu liáu.Buying eight is enough.
- 佳怡 Jiayi八个真的够吗？Pue̍h ê chin-tián kòu mǎ?Are eight really enough?
- 俊杰 Junjie够了，俊杰说这样刚好。Kòu liáu, Jùnjié set chiá-ne gān-hó.Yes, Junjie said this is just right.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “eight” translations and entries 八, 八, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 八, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
