Definitions

pàn (noun) edge; side; boundary
pàn (noun) bank; shore

Etymology

A farm  divided in half  also provides the pronunciation

About

The character "畔" is structurally a phono-semantic compound combining the semantic component 田, meaning field, with the phonetic component 半, which historically indicated its pronunciation. Its etymology points to an initial meaning centered on the raised border or path separating cultivated plots, a specific agricultural reference to a field's margin. Over time, this concrete notion of a physical divider expanded semantically to encompass natural borders more broadly, such as the bank of a river or the shore of a lake, thus generalizing into a term for any kind of brink or periphery. While classical usage sometimes applied it to figurative limits or points of division, the character has maintained its core association with the concept of a side or edge, evident in modern compounds where it conveys adjacency to such boundaries.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 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

在小河散步很舒服。

Zài xiǎohé pàn sànbù hěn shūfu.

Taking a walk by the small river is very comfortable.

我们常在湖看日落。

Wǒmen cháng zài hú pàn kàn rìluò.

We often watch the sunset by the lakeside.

他的房子坐落在田

Tā de fángzi zuòluò zài tián pàn.

His house is situated by the edge of the fields.

公园里开满了鲜花。

Hépàn gōngyuán lǐ kāimǎnle xiānhuā.

The riverside park is full of blooming flowers.

他独自走在寂静的江

Tā dúzì zǒu zài jìjìng de jiāng pàn.

He walked alone along the quiet riverbank.

响起母亲温柔的话语。

Ěr pàn xiǎngqǐ mǔqīn wēnróu de huàyǔ.

The gentle words of his mother sounded in his ear.

这片古战场位于两国之

Zhè piàn gǔ zhànchǎng wèiyú liǎng guó zhī pàn.

This ancient battlefield is located on the border of two countries.

理想与现实的冲突常在我脑回响。

Lǐxiǎng yǔ xiànshí de chōngtū cháng zài wǒ nǎo pàn huíxiǎng.

The conflict between ideal and reality often echoes in my mind.