篇

piān

扁 + 竹

HSK 2.0Level 4

HSK 3.0Level 4

Frequency#1008

Definitions

piān (noun) piece of writing; article; chapter

piān (classifier) classifier for written items

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. ⺮ represents the meaning and 扁 represents the sound.

About

The character "篇" is structured with the bamboo radical "⺮" above the phonetic component "扁", a composition that points to its origin in the bamboo slips used for writing in early China. Initially denoting these physical slips bound together to form a text, the term's meaning shifted from the material object to the literary content itself, coming to signify a chapter, section, or piece of writing. The phonetic element "扁" guides pronunciation and may implicitly reference the flat shape of the slips, while the semantic transition reflects the evolution from writing on bamboo to broader literary usage.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我写了一篇文章。

Wǒ xiě le yī piān wénzhāng.

I wrote an article.

这篇小说很有趣。

Zhè piān xiǎoshuō hěn yǒuqù.

This novel is very interesting.

他每天读一篇新闻。

Tā měi tiān dú yī piān xīnwén.

He reads a news article every day.

老师布置了一篇作文。

Lǎoshī bùzhì le yī piān zuòwén.

The teacher assigned a composition.

我在杂志上看到一篇关于环保的文章。

Wǒ zài zázhì shàng kàndào yī piān guānyú huánbǎo de wénzhāng.

I saw an article about environmental protection in the magazine.

虽然这篇报告很长，但内容非常精彩。

Suīrán zhè piān bàogào hěn cháng, dàn nèiróng fēicháng jīngcǎi.

Although this report is very long, the content is very wonderful.

如果你能写一篇读后感，我会很感激。

Rúguǒ nǐ néng xiě yī piān dúhòugǎn, wǒ huì hěn gǎnjī.

If you can write a reading reflection, I would be very grateful.

这篇论文经过了多次修改，最终在国际期刊上发表了。

Zhè piān lùnwén jīngguò le duō cì xiūgǎi, zuìzhōng zài guójì qīkān shàng fābiǎo le.

This thesis has been revised multiple times and was finally published in an international journal.

Related Characters

Component: 扁

Component: 竹

篇