伴 (bàn) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

伴

bàn[ban4]Tone 4

partner

HSK 4

Guru Deep Dive

English · partner

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (亻) should be narrower and slightly elevated, leaving ample space for the right phonetic component (半) to maintain a balanced, unified width.

1. Meaning

partner, companion, comrade, associate

to accompanyto keep company

Noun / VerbNeutralBound morpheme#human relationships#social interaction

Sample Usage

他是我的好伙伴。
tā shì wǒ de hǎo bàn bàn.
He is my good partner.
她陪伴着母亲散步。
tā péi bàn zhe mǔ qīn sàn bù.
She is accompanying her mother for a walk.

2. Sound

/[pan⁵¹]/Tone: 51

伴

bànban4

`(51)

=bàn

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: b sound as in boy

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. A tissue in front of lips should stay still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips pressed together firmly then released, with no puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -an rhymes with 'run' minus the r, or 'con' without the c

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ahn'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges straight down, exactly like saying 'No!' in English when you refuse something firmly.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with the first tone (bān) or second tone (bán). The 4th tone drops sharply like an exclamation of annoyance.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp downward chop with your hand, mirroring a stern command or falling rock from high to low.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (亻) should be narrower and slightly elevated, leaving ample space for the right phonetic component (半) to maintain a balanced, unified width.

4. Components

Radical 亻 · Person Radical (human being, person)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 亻 (Indicates human involvement, relationship, or companionship)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 半 (original sound: ban)

A person (亻) acting as a counterpart, splitting responsibilities right down the middle like a half (半), serving as your equal partner.

亻 person
半 half / phonetic clue

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

11· Phonetic Root: 半 (bàn)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the person radical (亻) indicating a human actor and (半) providing the sound and the ancient concept of dividing evenly into halves, implying someone who shares your load.

Semantic Evolution: Originally denoting a companion or match, it expanded to cover broader professional and personal partnerships, as well as the verb meaning to accompany.

In classical Chinese literature, 伴 was often used to describe traveling companions on long journeys.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ハン (han) / Kun: ともなう (tomonau)

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A PERSON (亻) splits an apple in HALF (半) to share with their COMPANION (伴).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

绊

bànto trip, stumbleUses the thread radical (纟) instead of person, meaning threads tripping someone up.

胖

pàngfat, plumpUses the flesh/moon radical (月), representing body fat.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

半(bàn)

半 means 'half' on its own without any radical; add the person radical (亻) and it becomes a human 'partner' (伴).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他是我工作上的好[___]。

Clue: bàn

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the tone with bān (Tone 1) or bǎn (Tone 3), or forgetting to include the person radical on the left when writing.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 伴, what does it mean and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the character for 'partner / companion' (bàn)?

伴bànpartner

Speed:

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