U+575D "坝" CJK Unified Ideograph-# Unicode Character

U+575D "坝" CJK Unified Ideograph-# is a Chinese character primarily used in modern and classical texts to mean "dam" or "embankment," referring to a man-made barrier constructed across a river or stream to control water flow or for irrigation purposes. In addition to its core hydrologic meaning, it can also denote a sandy or raised area of land, such as a shoal or a long flat strip of terrain, particularly in southern Chinese dialects or place names. The character is composed of the radical "土" (earth, soil) on the left, indicating its association with land or construction, and the phonetic component "贝" on the right, which provides a clue to its pronunciation (bà in Mandarin). This ideograph is commonly encountered in geographic names, engineering contexts, and agricultural discussions within the Chinese writing system.