Meaning of 偏
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to lean
- to slant
- oblique
- prejudiced
- to deviate from average
- to stray from the intended line
- stubbornly
- contrary to expectations
How to use 偏
As an adjective, 偏 means off-center or biased, as in 偏见 (piānjiàn, prejudice). As an adverb it means stubbornly or contrary to what is expected, often placed right before the verb. Example: 他偏不听我的话。(Tā piān bù tīng wǒ de huà.) He just insists on not listening to me.
偏 has the person radical 亻 on the left and 扁 (biǎn) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture a person leaning to one side, and you have the core idea of slanting or being one-sided.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 偏 with 遍 (biàn, a time; everywhere) and 篇 (piān, a measure word for articles), since all three share 扁. Check the radical: 亻 for 偏, 辶 for 遍, and ⺮ for 篇.
偏 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
偏 piān · to lean · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 偏.
| 偏偏 | piānpiān | (indicating that sth turns out just the opposite of what one would wish) unfortunately; as |
| 偏见 | piānjiàn | prejudice; bias |
| 偏僻 | piānpì | remote; desolate |
| 偏远 | piānyuǎn | remote; far from civilization |
| 偏差 | piānchā | bias; deviation |
| 偏向 | piānxiàng | partial towards sth; to prefer |
| 偏方 | piānfāng | folk remedy; home remedy |
| 偏离 | piānlí | to deviate; to diverge |
| 偏执 | piānzhí | extreme and inflexible; fixated; stubborn in clinging to a notion; (psychology) paranoid |
| 偏要 | piānyào | to insist on doing sth; must do it, despite everything |
| 偏爱 | piān'ài | to be partial towards sth; to favor |
| 偏执狂 | piānzhíkuáng | paranoia; monomania |
Questions about 偏
What does 偏 mean?
偏 (piān) means "to lean; to slant" and is used as a adjective and adverb.
How do you write 偏?
偏 is made of 1 character: 偏 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 偏 an HSK word?
Yes. 偏 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 偏 and 偏偏?
Both can mean doing something contrary to expectations, but 偏偏 is more emphatic and common in speech. 偏偏 can also start a sentence to mean 'as luck would have it', as in 偏偏下雨了 (piānpiān xià yǔ le), it just had to rain. 偏 alone normally comes right before the verb.
How do I say a place is remote using 偏?
Use 偏远 (piānyuǎn) for places far from cities, or 偏僻 (piānpì) for places that are out of the way and quiet. For example, 这个村子很偏僻 (zhège cūnzi hěn piānpì) means this village is very remote.