(bǎn) — slope (written variant, rare)

Definition

坂 (bǎn) is a written/literary word for 'slope' — mostly seen as a bound morpheme in place names like 坂田 and 坂坡, not used alone in everyday speech.

noun
slope (written variant, rare)

Examples

  • Zhè ge bǎn pō hěn dǒu, yào xiǎo xīn zǒu.
    This slope is steep, be careful walking.
  • bǎn Pō xià yǒu yì tiáo xiǎo hé.
    There is a small river at the bottom of the slope.
  • Zhè zuò shān de bǎn pō shàng zhǒng mǎn le chá shù.
    The slope of this mountain is planted with tea trees.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Sound part声符shēngfú
fǎnbǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

坂 has 土 on the left, which relates to the meaning, and 反 on the right, which gives the sound.

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