备

Tap the pinyin to hear it

(bound form) to prepare; to equip; (literary) fully; completely

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

To go 夂 to the farm 田 to prepare for a harvest

Components 夂田

prepare · Heisig RSH #317

walking legs + 田 rice field

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
准备	zhǔn bèi	preparation; to prepare; to intend; to be about to; reserve (fund)
备而不用	bèi ér bù yòng	have sth ready just in case; keep sth for possible future use
有备而来	yǒu bèi ér lái	to come prepared
后备军	hòu bèi jūn	rearguard
出其不意，攻其不备	chū qí bù yì , gōng qí bù bèi	to catch an enemy off guard with a surprise attack (idiom, from Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫…
不备	bù bèi	unprepared; off guard
自备	zì bèi	to provide one's own...; own; self-provided; self-contained
备下	bèi xià	to prepare; to arrange (sth to be offered)
备用二级头呼吸器	bèi yòng èr jí tóu hū xī qì	(scuba diving) backup regulator; octopus
全无准备	quán wú zhǔn bèi	completely unprepared
备用环	bèi yòng huán	backup ring
后备	hòu bèi	reserve; backup
核军备	hé jūn bèi	nuclear arms
备用	bèi yòng	reserve; spare; alternate; backup
制备	zhì bèi	to prepare; preparation (chemistry)
作好准备	zuò hǎo zhǔn bèi	to prepare; to make adequate preparation
以备不测	yǐ bèi bù cè	to be prepared for accidents
报备	bào bèi	to report a proposed activity to an authority (to obtain approval or register one's intent…
备战	bèi zhàn	to prepare for war; (fig.) to prepare intensively for a competition, examination etc
战备	zhàn bèi	war readiness; military preparedness