販 meaning and stroke order
Merchant, peddler; to deal in, to trade
How to write 販, stroke by stroke
11 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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- 11
Meaning of 販
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to deal in
- to buy and sell
- to trade in
- to retail
- to peddle
How 販 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Money.
貝 gives the meaning and 反 hints at the sound.
Radical: 貝 (sea shell), shared by 62 characters on this site.
How to remember 販
販 joins 貝 (bèi), the shell that once meant money, with 反 (fǎn), which gives the sound. Picture a peddler turning money over and over (反) as he buys low and sells again.
販 (fàn) means to buy goods and resell them, and it often carries a small-time or shady feel, as in 小販 (xiǎofàn) street vendor or 毒販 (dúfàn) drug dealer. It rarely stands alone in modern speech and usually appears in compounds. Example: 街上有很多小販。(Jiē shang yǒu hěn duō xiǎofàn.) There are many street vendors on the street.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 販 (fàn) with 飯 (fàn, meal), which sounds the same and also uses 反 but has the food radical 飠 instead of 貝. Also do not read it as fǎn like its phonetic part. It is fourth tone.
Common words with 販
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 販
How many strokes are in 販?
販 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 販 mean?
販 (fàn) means merchant, peddler; to deal in, to trade. A common word with it is 贩卖 (fànmài), meaning "to sell; to peddle".
How do you pronounce 販?
販 is pronounced fàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 販?
The radical of 販 is 貝, which carries the idea of "sea shell". Dictionaries list 販 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 販?
販 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 贩, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 販賣 and 賣?
賣 (mài) is the everyday word for selling anything. 販賣 (fànmài) suggests buying goods to resell, and it often appears with illegal trade, such as 販賣人口 (fànmài rénkǒu) human trafficking.
Is 販子 an insulting word?
Usually yes. 販子 (fànzi) often sounds negative, like a dealer or monger, as in 人販子 (rénfànzi) human trafficker. For a neutral seller, use 商人 (shāngrén) or 賣家 (màijiā).