板 meaning and stroke order
Board; plank; plate
How to write 板, stroke by stroke
8 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
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 板
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- board
- plank
- plate
- shutter
- table tennis bat
- clappers (music)
- to catch sight of in a doorway (old)
How 板 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wood.
木 gives the meaning and 反 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 板
板 is pictophonetic: 木 (wood) on the left gives the meaning, and 反 (fǎn) on the right hints at the sound bǎn. Picture a flat piece of wood, a plank, cut from a tree.
板 (bǎn) appears in many words for flat, hard surfaces, such as 黑板 (hēibǎn, blackboard), 地板 (dìbǎn, floor) and 甲板 (jiǎbǎn, deck). It is also part of the everyday word 老板 (lǎobǎn, boss). Example: 老板今天不在。(Lǎobǎn jīntiān bú zài.) The boss is not in today.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 板 (bǎn) with 版 (bǎn, edition, printing block), which has 片 on the left instead of 木. Use 板 for physical boards and 版 for versions or editions, as in 出版 (chūbǎn, to publish).
Common words with 板
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 黑板 | hēibǎn | blackboard | HSK 2 |
| 老板 | lǎobǎn | boss; proprietor | HSK 3 |
| 地板 | dìbǎn | floor | HSK 6 |
| 木板 | mùbǎn | slab; board | HSK 7-9 |
| 板块 | bǎnkuài | slab; (geology) tectonic plate | HSK 7-9 |
| 叫板 | jiàobǎn | to signal the musicians (in Chinese opera, by prolonging a spoken word before attacking a | HSK 7-9 |
| 拍板 | pāibǎn | wooden clappers (percussion instrument); to beat time with clappers (for a singer) | HSK 7-9 |
| 甲板 | jiǎbǎn | deck (of a ship or boat) | |
| 老板娘 | lǎobǎnniáng | female proprietor; lady boss | |
| 天花板 | tiānhuābǎn | ceiling (of a room); (fig.) upper limit; (slang) the very best (in a given field) | |
| 滑板 | huábǎn | skateboard | |
| 石板 | shíbǎn | slab; flagstone | |
| 平板 | píngbǎn | slab; flat board; (engineering) surface plate; flat; level | |
| 板球 | bǎnqiú | cricket (ball game) |
板 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 板
How many strokes are in 板?
板 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 板 mean?
板 (bǎn) means board; plank; plate. A common word with it is 黑板 (hēibǎn), meaning "blackboard".
How do you pronounce 板?
板 is pronounced bǎn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 板?
The radical of 板 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 板 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 板?
The traditional form of 板 is 闆. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 板 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 板 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 板 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
Why is 老板 written with 板 if a boss has nothing to do with wood?
In simplified Chinese, 板 also replaces the traditional character 闆 used in 老闆 (boss). So 老板 just borrows the simpler form, and its meaning is unrelated to planks.
Can 板 describe a person or attitude?
Yes. 板 can mean stiff or unnatural, for example 板着脸 (bǎnzhe liǎn), to keep a straight, stern face. 拍板 (pāibǎn) also means to make the final decision.