板

闆

bǎn, pàn

反 + 木

Definitions

bǎn (noun) board; plank; plate

bǎn (adjective) stiff; rigid

bǎn (noun) boss

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 木 represents the meaning and 反 represents the sound.

Semantic: 木 Phonetic: 反

About

The character 板 is formed as a phono-semantic compound, with the wood radical 木 on the left conveying the general meaning of timber or trees, and the component 反 on the right functioning purely as a phonetic indicator. Its primary, literal sense is a flat, rigid piece of wood, a board or plank used in construction and everyday objects. Over time, the idea of a hard, inflexible wooden surface gave rise to metaphorical extensions, describing a person's expression or personality as stiff, rigid, unsmiling, or strictly rule-bound, without any flexibility.

Etymology Hide

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

黑板很干净。

Hēibǎn hěn gānjìng.

The blackboard is very clean.

地板需要打扫。

Dìbǎn xūyào dǎsǎo.

The floor needs to be cleaned.

妈妈买了新木板。

Māmā mǎi le xīn mùbǎn.

Mom bought new wooden boards.

这块板子很坚硬。

Zhè kuài bǎnzi hěn jiānyìng.

This board is very hard.

他在黑板上写字。

Tā zài hēibǎn shàng xiě zì.

He is writing on the blackboard.

工程师设计了新的板房。

Gōngchéngshī shèjì le xīn de bǎnfáng.

The engineer designed a new prefabricated house.

虽然地板旧了，但还是很结实。

Suīrán dìbǎn jiù le, dàn háishì hěn jiēshi.

Although the floor is old, it is still very sturdy.

这种板材的防火性能非常出色。

Zhè zhǒng bǎncái de fánghuǒ xìngnéng fēicháng chūsè.

The fire resistance of this type of board material is very outstanding.

Related Characters

Component: 反

Component: 木

板