版 (bǎn): edition; version

Meanings

1 edition; version
2 page (of a newspaper)
3 printing plate

Characters

版

bǎn

edition; version; printing plate

片 (slice) + 反 (reverse) - a printing plate that prints in reverse

Examples

HSK 2

中文版和英文版都有。

Zhōngwén bǎn hé Yīngwén bǎn dōu yǒu.

Both Chinese and English versions are available.

HSK 4

这个新闻登在了头版。

Zhège xīnwén dēng zài le tóubǎn.

This news was published on the front page.

HSK 5

请下载最新版的软件。

Qǐng xiàzài zuìxīn bǎn de ruǎnjiàn.

Please download the latest version of the software.

Tips

usage

版本 is the full word for 'version.' 版 alone works in compounds: 新版 (new edition), 原版 (original version), 盗版 (pirated version), 头版 (front page).

usage

版权 = copyright, 出版 = to publish, 盗版 = pirated copy.

Components

radical

片 piàn

slice; piece of wood

Left indexing radical 片 (split half of a tree) - marks 版 as something flat and wooden in origin: a printing block, a writing tablet, a board. Same radical groups thin-flat objects like 牌 (sign) and 牍 (writing tablet). The split-tree pictograph is the literal source of 'plank.'

phonetic

反 fǎn

reverse; turn over (here phonetic)

Right component 反 supplies the sound (fǎn → bǎn, with f-/b- drift in some series). Bonus semantic fit: a printing plate carries text in reverse so the print appears correct. The phonetic series includes 板 (board), 饭 (rice), 返 (return), 贩 (vendor).