pán
noun #18,751

Meanings

  1. 1 large rock
  2. 2 boulder
  3. 3 firm and stable (like a rock)

Examples

Tāmen de yǒuyì jiānrúpánshí.
Their friendship is as solid as a rock.
Pánshí zhīshàng jiàn qǐ le sìmiào.
A temple was built upon the great rock.

Tips

usage
is most commonly seen in the compound 磐石, a large immovable boulder used figuratively for unshakeable stability or resolve.

Components

radical
shí
stone
Bottom stone radical - pictograph of a rock under a cliff overhang. The indexing radical, doing the heavy lifting: is a large solid boulder, the immovable rock behind the figurative 'firm foundation' senses (坚如磐石 'solid as a boulder'). The stone radical also appears in to shatter, to lay bricks.
phonetic
bān
sort; kind
Top supplies the sound: bān to pán with b/p alternation and tone shift. itself is boat + hand-with-staff - 'to turn a boat with a pole.' The 'massive movable thing' nuance survives here: 磐石 is a boulder, a rock-of-ages metaphor. Same phonetic also gives to move, platter.

Stroke Order

pán