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

HSK 1

请再说一遍。

Qǐng zài shuō yī biàn.

Please say it one more time.

HSK 1

这本书我看了三遍。

Zhè běn shū wǒ kàn le sān biàn.

I've read this book three times.

HSK 3

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.