番 (fān) — (classifier) for occurrences of an event, action, or speech utterance, often implying a whole round or period; (classifier) for a kind or sort of situation, flavor, etc. (used with 一 in phrases like 别有一番∼); (classifier) for times or -fold, used in expressions like 翻一番 (to double)
Definition
番 (fān) is a classifier for rounds or bouts of an event/action and for kinds/flavors of something (别有一番). For numerical multiples (-fold) like 翻一番, 倍 is the simpler multiplier — use 倍 after a plain number.
classifier
for occurrences of an event, action, or speech utterance, often implying a whole round or periodfor a kind or sort of situationflavoretc. (used with 一 in phrases like 别有一番∼)for times or -fold, used in expressions like 翻一番 (to double)
Examples
- ，。Jīng guò yì fān nǔ lì, tā zhōng yú chéng gōng le.After a period of effort, he finally succeeded.
- 。Zhè dào cài bié yǒu yì fān tè sè.This dish has a distinctive character.
- 。Jīn nián shōu rù fān le yì fān.This year's income doubled.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
釆
釆biàn番fān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
番 is built from 釆 and 田: 釆 supplies a sound, and 田 is the meaning part, though the original sense is unclear.
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