盆 (pén): basin; tub; washbasin

Meanings

1 basin; tub; washbasin
2 flower pot; potted plant container
3 (measure word) pot/basin of something

Characters

盆

pén

basin; pot; tub

Examples

她在盆里洗衣服。

Tā zài pén lǐ xǐyīfu.

She washes clothes in a basin.

阳台上放了几盆花。

Yángtái shàng fàng le jǐ pén huā.

There are a few pots of flowers on the balcony.

洗脸盆坏了。

Xǐliǎnpén huài le.

The washbasin is broken.

妈妈端来一盆水果。

Māma duān lái yī pén shuǐguǒ.

Mom brought over a basin of fruit.

Tips

usage

盆 is also a measure word for things in basins/pots: 一盆花 (a pot of flowers), 一盆水 (a basin of water).

usage

Common compounds: 脸盆 (liǎnpén, washbasin), 花盆 (huāpén, flower pot), 盆地 (péndì, basin/low-lying land in geography).

Components

radical

皿 mǐn

shallow vessel; dish

Bottom dish radical (Kangxi #108) — the indexing radical. A pictograph of a wide-mouthed shallow bowl seen from the side, with the base at the bottom and the rim above. Anchors 盆 firmly in the vessel/container family alongside 盘 (plate), 盖 (lid), 盐 (salt-pot), 盒 (box), 盐 — every char with this radical is some kind of dish, basin, or open container.

phonetic

分 fēn

divide; portion

Top component supplies the sound (fēn → pén, a regular old-Chinese drift between bilabial initials). Faint semantic echo too: a basin is the kind of vessel used to portion out water, food, or grain. Same phonetic in 盼 (look forward), 颁 (issue), 贫 (poor — note the irregular meaning), 份 (portion).