p8nda
p8nda BETA
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般

bān / bō / pán
suffix #1,746

Meanings

  1. 1 sort; kind; class
  2. 2 way; manner
  3. 3 like; as

Examples

HSK 3
一般来说，中国人很热情。
Yìbān láishuō, Zhōngguó rén hěn rèqíng.
Generally speaking, Chinese people are very friendly.
HSK 4
这般做法不太好。
Zhèbān zuòfǎ bú tài hǎo.
This way of doing things isn't great.
HSK 7-9
她像天使一般美丽。
Tā xiàng tiānshǐ yìbān měilì.
She is beautiful like an angel.

Tips

usage
Mostly bound - appears inside compounds rather than alone. Two main patterns: 一般-style ('general, ordinary') and X+一般 literary comparison ('like X'). Also fixed pieces: 百般 (every way), 这般 (this way), 万般 (utterly).
memory
Three readings, very lopsided usage: bān covers nearly all real text ('kind, sort'). bō appears only in the Buddhist term 般若 (prajñā wisdom). pán survives only in the classical phrase 般乐 (to amuse oneself). Default to bān unless you see those exact compounds.

Components

radical
舟 zhōu
boat
Left indexing radical 舟 (boat) - pictograph of a hull with planks. Original 般 meant to turn or convey by boat, which is why 搬 (to move/transport) added the hand radical. Same boat radical drives 船, 舱, 航.
semantic
殳 shū
halberd; pole-weapon
Right side 殳 depicts a hand wielding a long pole. In 般 it pictures the punting pole that turns the boat - boat + pole originally meant 'rotate, convey'. The abstract senses ('this kind, that kind') developed later via 'one rotation = one round = one type'.

Stroke Order

般 bān