Dong Chinese dictionary

bà, ba

cease

tired, wear out

Depicts a tired bear (能) trapped under a net (网). Based on the original meaning "tired, wear out". The meaning later shifted to "stop" and "quit".

Components

网 Iconic component

wǎng

net

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 网 than it was in ancient scripts.

能 Iconic component

néng

to be able

Depicts a bear.

Evolution

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

bà

cease, finish, stop; give up; to stop; to cease; to dismiss; to suspend; to quit; to finish

(final particle, same as 吧)

Most common words with 罷

Freq.	Word	Meaning
	罢了	a modal particle indicating (that's all, only, nothing much)
	罢	to stop
	罢工	a strike
	也罢	never mind
	罢休	to give up

Component uses

Sound component in 1 character (1 verified)

Sources

李学勤《字源》p.685