扁 meaning and stroke order
Flat; (coll.) to beat (sb) up; old variant of 匾[bian3]
How to write 扁, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 扁
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- flat
- (coll.) to beat (sb) up
- old variant of 匾[bian3]
- (bound form) small
How 扁 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 户 (door), shared by 15 characters on this site.
How to remember 扁
扁 (biǎn) has 户 (hù, door) on top. Picture a door pressed so flat that it becomes a thin board or sign hanging over a doorway.
扁 usually describes something flat or squashed, and it often appears after a verb as a result, as in 压扁 (yābiǎn, to crush flat). In casual speech, 看扁 means to look down on someone: 别把人看扁了。(Bié bǎ rén kàn biǎn le.) Don't underestimate people.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 扁 with 篇 (piān, a measure word for articles) and 编 (biān, to edit or weave), which share the same part but sound different. Also keep the third tone in biǎn; the reading piān only appears in a few set words meaning small.
Common words with 扁
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 海扁 | hǎibiǎn | (slang) to beat sb up | |
| 压扁 | yābiǎn | to squash; to crush flat | |
| 痛扁 | tòngbiǎn | to beat (sb) up | |
| 看扁 | kànbiǎn | to have a low opinion of |
扁 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 扁
Learning 扁 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 扁
How many strokes are in 扁?
扁 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 扁 mean?
扁 (biǎn) means flat; (coll.) to beat (sb) up; old variant of 匾[bian3]. A common word with it is 海扁 (hǎibiǎn), meaning "(slang) to beat sb up".
How do you pronounce 扁?
扁 is pronounced biǎn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 扁?
The radical of 扁 is 户, which carries the idea of "door". Dictionaries list 扁 under this radical.
Is 扁 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 扁 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 海扁 mean and is it polite?
海扁 (hǎibiǎn) is slang for beating someone up badly. It is informal and often used jokingly online, so avoid it in formal writing.
Is 扁 the same as 平 for flat?
Not quite. 平 (píng) means level or even, like a flat road, while 扁 means thin and flattened in shape, like a squashed box or a flat nose.