堤坝
dī bà · HSK 7
dam
🧱🌊 DEE-BAH — a sheep bleating NO at the river; 堤 dike + 坝 dam, both with 土 earth
Bà sounds like a goat stamping its hoof — bah, you shall not pass! Both characters share the earth radical 土, since real dams are walls of compacted soil.
堤 — earth radical 土 + 是 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The earth radical 土 signals the meaning—an embankment or dike built of earth to hold back water. The component 是 supplies the sound, historically close to the reading dī. Originally referring to riverbank levees, it now also appears in words like 堤坝 (dam).
坝 — earth radical 土 + 霸 (bà) phonetic
坝 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the earth radical 土 signals an earthwork, while 霸 (bà) gives the sound. It originally referred to a dam or embankment built of packed earth to hold back water. In modern usage it still means dam, dike, or a flat plain, especially in southwest China.