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般

bō / bān / pán
noun #1,746

Meanings

  1. 1 used only in 般若

Examples

HSK 7-9
《心经》是著名的般若经典。
《 Xīnjīng 》 shì zhùmíng de bōrě jīngdiǎn.
The Heart Sutra is a famous prajñā scripture.
HSK 7-9
般若指的是洞察实相的智慧。
Bōrě zhǐ de shì dòngchá shíxiàng de zhìhuì.
Prajñā means wisdom that sees the true nature of reality.

Tips

register
The bō reading is locked to one word: 般若, a phonetic transliteration of Sanskrit prajñā ('wisdom') used across Buddhist scripture. Outside that compound the reading never appears.
culture
般若 names a whole genre of Buddhist sutras, the Prajñāpāramitā texts - the Heart Sutra and Diamond Sutra are the two most-chanted in Chinese Buddhism. The odd readings (bō for 般, rě for 若) preserve a Tang-era attempt at Sanskrit pronunciation.

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 bō