绊

絆
bàn
verb HSK 7-9 #10,539

Meanings

  1. 1 to trip
  2. 2 to stumble
  3. 3 to hinder

Examples

HSK 5
Tā bèi shítou bàn le yíxià.
He tripped on a stone.
HSK 5
Bié ràng xiǎoshì bàn zhù nǐ de jiǎobù.
Don't let small things hold you back.

Tips

usage
绊倒 means 'to trip and fall'. 绊脚石 is a stumbling block, used figuratively for obstacles.

Components

radical
纟 sī
silk; thread (radical form of 糸)
Left silk-thread radical (side form of 糸) puts 绊 in the cord/binding family with 绳 rope, 结 knot, 绑 tie. Here it gives the concrete image of a rope or tether - what trips someone up or hobbles an animal's legs.
phonetic
半 bàn
half
Right 半 supplies the sound - bàn carried over without tonal change. 半 itself depicts an ox split down the middle (semantic "half"), and that splitting/binding imagery dovetails with the rope theme: 绊 is what halves a stride mid-step, tripping someone up. 绊倒 trip and fall, 羁绊 fetter, restraint.

Stroke Order

绊 bàn