About
The character 翻 is a phono-semantic compound, with the phonetic component 番 on the left indicating its pronunciation, and the radical 羽 (feather or wing) on the right providing its semantic basis. The wing radical originally pointed to the physical action of a bird fluttering or flapping its wings in flight. This sense of rapid movement and turning over later extended to describe flipping pages, inverting objects, and, more abstractly, the process of translating text or speech between languages.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
他翻开一本书。
妈妈在翻照片。
弟弟把杯子翻倒了。
我每天翻看报纸。
因为风大，船差点翻了。
她翻出旧日记，回忆过去。
如果你翻过那座山，就能看到美丽的湖泊。
这本书被翻译成多种语言，翻遍了全世界。