番

pān, fān

田 + 釆

HSK 2.0Level 6

HSK 3.0Level 6

Definitions

fān (adjective) foreign; non-Chinese

fān (noun) time; instance; occurrence

fān (numeral) -fold; times (as in twofold)

fān (noun) kind; sort

Etymology

Depicts an animal's claw (釆) with their paw shown. 釆 also represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "animal's paw", now written as 蹯. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

About

番 originally depicted an animal's paw: the top component 釆 shows the claws, while the lower part 田 represents the pad. 釆 also gives a hint to the pronunciation. The character's earliest meaning was "animal's paw", a sense now written as 蹯. Through phonetic loan, 番 later took on unrelated uses, most notably as a measure word for actions or occurrences and as a term for foreign peoples or lands.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Spring and Autumn (~700 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

妈妈买了番茄。

Māma mǎi le fānqié.

Mom bought tomatoes.

番薯是一种健康食物。

Fānshǔ shì yī zhǒng jiànkāng shíwù.

Sweet potatoes are a healthy food.

他有一番自己的道理。

Tā yǒu yī fān zìjǐ de dàolǐ.

He has his own reasoning.

他们轮番上场表演。

Tāmen lúnfān shàngchǎng biǎoyǎn.

They take turns performing on stage.

请记住你的部队番号。

Qǐng jìzhù nǐ de bùduì fānhào.

Please remember your military unit number.

这本小说有番外篇。

Zhè běn xiǎoshuō yǒu fānwàipiān.

This novel has an extra story.

信封上要写明番地。

Xìnfēng shàng yào xiěmíng fāndì.

The envelope must have the lot number written on it.

古代中国称外国为番邦。

Gǔdài Zhōngguó chēng wàiguó wéi fānbāng.

In ancient China, foreign countries were called fanbang.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 田

Component: 釆

Example Words