遍 (biàn): measure word for times (of doin…

Meanings

1 measure word for times (of doing sth from start to finish)

Characters

遍

biàn

all over; measure word for actions done from start to finish

Walking radical 辶 + 扁 (flat) — walking flat across an entire area, hence 'everywhere'

Examples

请再说一遍。

Qǐng zài shuō yī biàn.

Please say it one more time.

这本书我看了三遍。

Zhè běn shū wǒ kàn le sān biàn.

I've read this book three times.

我把课文读了两遍。

Wǒ bǎ kèwén dú le liǎng biàn.

I read the text twice.

Tips

mistakes

遍 vs 次: 遍 implies doing something thoroughly from beginning to end. 次 is more general. Reading a book: use 遍. Going to a place: use 次.

Components

radical

辶 chuò

walk; movement (radical)

Surrounding walk radical (Kangxi #162) — three strokes, the simplified form of 辵, wrapping from below-left around the right and bottom. Carries the meaning: 遍 'everywhere, all the way through, once over completely' is fundamentally a movement that covers ground. Anchors 遍 alongside 进 (advance), 过 (pass), 还 (return), 通 (through), 道 (way) — the full travel family.

phonetic

扁 biǎn

flat; tablet (phonetic)

Inner phonetic 扁 — supplies the sound (biǎn drifted to biàn, regular tone shift). Originally a flat door-tablet (户 + 册 strips). Adds a faint flavour: traversing 'flatly all the way through' fits 遍's 'everywhere.' Family 篇, 偏, 编, 骗 — the cluster 篇/偏/遍 share 扁 and differ only by radical, easy to confuse.