Definitions

Pān (noun) Pan (Greek mythology)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character "潘" originally denoted water used for washing rice or stagnant water, a meaning derived from its structural composition of the water radical combined with the phonetic component "番". Over time, its primary application shifted away from this literal sense toward functioning as a surname, a semantic transition that occurred gradually through long-term linguistic use while the character's graphical form persisted without significant alteration. This change reflects how the character's role evolved from describing a specific substance to serving as a familial identifier, maintaining its etymological link to water through its constituent elements even as that concrete meaning receded.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal etymology image
Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Seal etymology image
Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Wu (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

先生是学校的老师。

Pān xiānsheng shì xuéxiào de lǎoshī.

Mr. Pan is a teacher at the school.

女士每天锻炼身体。

Pān nǚshì měitiān duànliàn shēntǐ.

Ms. Pan exercises every day.

老师教我们中文。

Pān lǎoshī jiāo wǒmen zhōngwén.

Teacher Pan teaches us Chinese.

多拉盒子充满了好奇。

Pānduōlā hézi chōngmǎnle hàoqí.

Pandora's box is full of curiosity.

帕斯草原位于南美洲。

Pānpàsī cǎoyuán wèiyú nánměizhōu.

The Pampas grassland is located in South America.

工程师设计了一座新桥。

Pān gōngchéngshī shèjìle yī zuò xīn qiáo.

Engineer Pan designed a new bridge.

经理主持了今天的会议。

Pān jīnglǐ zhǔchíle jīntiān de huìyì.

Manager Pan chaired today's meeting.

教授发表的论文影响很大。

Pān jiàoshòu fābiǎo de lùnwén yǐngxiǎng hěn dà.

The paper published by Professor Pan has a great impact.