Meaning of 扁
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- flat
- (coll.) to beat (sb) up
- old variant of 匾[bian3]
- (bound form) small
- surname Pian
How to use 扁
扁 usually describes things that are flat or squashed, like a flattened box or a flat nose. It also appears in phrases like 看扁 (kànbiǎn), to look down on someone, and in casual slang for beating someone up. Example: 这个盒子被压扁了。(Zhège hézi bèi yābiǎn le.) This box got crushed flat.
扁 (biǎn) has 户 (hù, door) on top of 冊-like strips below. Picture a sign pressed flat against a door, thin and wide, which is why it means flat.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 扁 (biǎn) with 篇 (piān, a piece of writing) and 偏 (piān, slanted), which contain 扁 as a component but have different meanings and tones. Also remember 扁 is third tone in its common meaning, not first.
扁 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.
扁 biǎn · flat · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 扁.
| 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 |
Questions about 扁
What does 扁 mean?
扁 (biǎn) means "flat; (coll.) to beat (sb) up" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 扁?
扁 is made of 1 character: 扁 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 扁 an HSK word?
Yes. 扁 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 别把人看扁了 mean?
It means "Don't underestimate people" or "Don't look down on me." 看扁 literally means to see someone as flat, so small and unimportant.
When is 扁 pronounced piān?
Only in a few bound forms meaning small, such as the classical phrase 扁舟 (piānzhōu, a small boat), and as the surname Piān. In everyday speech, read it as biǎn.