班 meaning and stroke order
Team; class; grade; (military) squad; work shift
How to write 班, stroke by stroke
10 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 班
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- team; class; grade
- (military) squad
- work shift
- classifier for groups of people and scheduled transport vehicles
How 班 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Cutting 刂 a piece of jade 王 in two, symbolizing two classes.
Radical: 王 (king), shared by 104 characters on this site.
How to remember 班
Picture a knife 刂 standing between two pieces of jade 王, cutting one piece in two. Splitting things into groups gives you 班 (bān), a class, team, or shift.
班 appears in many everyday words about school and work, such as 上班 (shàngbān, go to work), 下班 (xiàbān, get off work), and 航班 (hángbān, flight). It is also a classifier for groups of people and scheduled buses, trains, or flights. Example: 我每天九点上班。(Wǒ měitiān jiǔ diǎn shàngbān.) I start work at nine every day.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 班 (bān) with 斑 (bān, spot) and 辩 (biàn, argue). In 班 the middle part is the knife 刂, in 斑 it is 文, and in 辩 it is 讠.
Common words with 班
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 上班 | shàngbān | to go to work; to be on duty | HSK 1 |
| 下班 | xiàbān | to finish work; to get off work; next service (train, bus etc) | HSK 1 |
| 班长 | bānzhǎng | class monitor; squad leader | HSK 2 |
| 班级 | bānjí | class (group of students); grade (in school) | HSK 3 |
| 航班 | hángbān | (scheduled) flight; (scheduled) sailing | HSK 4 |
| 加班 | jiābān | to work overtime | HSK 4 |
| 培训班 | péixùnbān | training class | HSK 4 |
| 值班 | zhíbān | to work a shift; on duty | HSK 5 |
| 西班牙语 | Xībānyáyǔ | Spanish language | HSK 6 |
| 上班族 | shàngbānzú | office workers (as social group) | HSK 6 |
| 夜班 | yèbān | night shift | HSK 7-9 |
| 接班人 | jiēbānrén | successor | HSK 7-9 |
| 接班 | jiēbān | to take over (from those working the previous shift); to take over (in a leadership role e | HSK 7-9 |
| 班机 | bānjī | airliner; (regular) flight (CL:趟[tang4],次[ci4],班[ban1]) |
班 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 班
How many strokes are in 班?
班 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 班 mean?
班 (bān) means team; class; grade; (military) squad; work shift. A common word with it is 上班 (shàngbān), meaning "to go to work; to be on duty".
How do you pronounce 班?
班 is pronounced bān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 班?
The radical of 班 is 王, which carries the idea of "king". Dictionaries list 班 under this radical.
Is 班 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 班 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What is the difference between 班 and 课 when talking about class?
班 (bān) is the group of students, as in 我们班 (wǒmen bān, our class). 课 (kè) is the lesson or course itself, as in 上课 (shàngkè, attend a lesson).
How is 班 used as a measure word?
It counts scheduled transport runs and groups of people. For example, 最后一班车 (zuìhòu yì bān chē) means the last bus or train, and 这班学生 (zhè bān xuéshēng) means this group of students.