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本 (běn) — (bound form) root; origin; source

Definition

As a bound form meaning 'root; origin; source', 本 attaches to other morphemes (根本, 原本, 本来). Alone it is rarely used — it appears as a classifier for books or a pronoun for 'this/our' (HSK 1).

bound form
rootoriginsource

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ běn lái bù zhī dào zhè jiàn shì.
    I didn't know about this originally.
  • 。
    Zhè gēn běn bú shì wǒ de cuò.
    This is fundamentally not my fault.
  • 本。
    Zhè shì zuì běn de yāo qiú.
    This is the most basic requirement.

Origin

Indicative sign
六书liùshū
指事zhǐshì

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5500 Most Frequent Chinese Words1000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsAbstract Concepts2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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