ba

Everyday

1. (Mandarin, pinyin) «Bā» means «eight» in Mandarin; «ba» with no tone goes at the end of a sentence to make a suggestion: «wǒmen zǒu ba» means «let's go». tree →
2. (abbreviation) A BA is a Bachelor of Arts, a first university degree. tree →
3. (abbreviation) BA is short for British Airways, an airline. tree →
4. (science) «Ba» is the chemical symbol for barium. tree →
5. The sound a sheep makes is spelt «baa», not «ba». tree →
6. Ba can also be a name, such as the name of a pet reindeer. tree →

In the lessons

In Mandarin lessons pupils count «yī, èr, sān … bā» (one, two, three … eight); eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture because «bā» sounds like a word for getting rich. In science, «Ba» is on the periodic table; barium is used in hospitals to help X-rays show the stomach. On flights and luggage tags, «BA» means British Airways. In nursery rhymes, «Baa, baa, black sheep».

Examples

• In Mandarin, «bā» means «eight». tree →
• «Wǒmen zǒu ba» means «let's go». tree →
• My aunt has a BA in English. tree →
• We flew to London with BA. tree →
• Ba is the symbol for barium. tree →
• Eight is a lucky number in China. tree →
• The sheep said «baa». tree →

Note

A fragment, not an English word. Read abbreviations as letters: «B-A». The sheep sound is spelt «baa». In pinyin, the tone mark matters: «bā» (eight) and «bà» (dad, as in «bàba») are different.

In Jewish tradition

In Mandarin lessons pupils count «yī, èr, sān … bā» (one, two, three … eight); eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture because «bā» sounds like a word for getting rich. In science, «Ba» is on the periodic table; barium is used in hospitals to help X-rays show the stomach. On flights and luggage tags, «BA» means British Airways. In nursery rhymes, «Baa, baa, black sheep».

Note

A fragment, not an English word. Read abbreviations as letters: «B-A». The sheep sound is spelt «baa». In pinyin, the tone mark matters: «bā» (eight) and «bà» (dad, as in «bàba») are different.