弁 meaning and stroke order
Conical cap worn during the Zhou dynasty
How to write 弁, stroke by stroke
5 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Meaning of 弁
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (old) cap (garment)
- military officer of low rank (in former times)
- preceding
How 弁 is built
Pictographic character. Two hands 廾 putting the cap 厶 on someone's head.
Radical: 廾 (two hands), shared by 10 characters on this site.
How to remember 弁
Picture two hands 廾 at the bottom lifting a small pointed cap 厶 onto someone's head. The top piece is the cap, the bottom piece is the hands placing it.
弁 (biàn) is rare in modern Chinese and mostly appears in historical texts or set words. It shows up in 武弁 (wǔbiàn), an old term for a low-ranking military officer, and in 弁言 (biànyán), a formal word for a preface. Example: 书的弁言很短。(Shū de biànyán hěn duǎn.) The book's preface is very short.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 弁 with 开 (kāi, open) or 异 (yì, different), which also have 廾 at the bottom. Check the top: 弁 has 厶, while 异 has 巳 and 开 has only a horizontal stroke.
Characters that contain 弁
Learning 弁 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 弁
How many strokes are in 弁?
弁 is written with 5 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 弁 mean?
弁 (biàn) means conical cap worn during the Zhou dynasty.
How do you pronounce 弁?
弁 is pronounced biàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 弁?
The radical of 弁 is 廾, which carries the idea of "two hands". Dictionaries list 弁 under this radical.
Why does 弁 mean preceding?
The cap was worn on the head, at the very top, so 弁 came to suggest something placed first or in front. This sense survives in 弁言 (biànyán), a preface that comes before the main text.
Is 弁 used in Japanese too?
Yes. In Japanese, 弁 is also the simplified form of several older characters, which is why it appears in words like 弁当 (bentō). In Chinese, those meanings are written with other characters, so do not expect 弁 to mean lunch box in Chinese.