办 (bàn): to take care of (a matter), to deal with (a task, procedure etc), to organize (an event), to establish, to set up, to manage, to run (an enterprise), (law) to handle, to investigate, to prosecute (a case or suspect)
办 (bàn) is a Chinese character meaning “to take care of (a matter).” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 力 (semantic) and 八 (phonetic). It ranks #367 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 办 strength. Its radical form 力 (power) appears in many related characters such as 动 (dòng, (of sth) to move), 力 (lì, power), 加 (jiā, Canada (abbr. for 加拿大)).
Definitions
- to take care of (a matter)
- to deal with (a task, procedure etc)
- to organize (an event)
- to establish
- to set up
- to manage
- to run (an enterprise)
- (law) to handle
- to investigate
- to prosecute (a case or suspect)
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 办 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 办
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 办法noun | bàn fǎ | way of handling sth | 3 |
| 怎么办phrase | zěn me bàn | what's to be done | 3 |
| 办公室noun | bàn gōng shì | office | 3 |
| 举办verb | jǔ bàn | to conduct | 4 |
| 办事verb | bàn shì | to handle (affairs) | 4 |
| 办公verb | bàn gōng | to handle official business (usu. in an office) | 4 |
| 承办verb | chéng bàn | to undertake | 6 |
| 办理verb | bàn lǐ | to handle | 4 |
| 创办verb | chuàng bàn | to establish | 6 |
| 主办verb | zhǔ bàn | to organize | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 办到 | bàn dào | to accomplish |
| 办案verb | bàn àn | to handle a (criminal) case |
| 办公桌 | bàn gōng zhuō | office desk |
| 照办verb | zhào bàn | to follow the rules |
| 办事处noun | bàn shì chù | office |
| 开办verb | kāi bàn | to open |
| 公事公办phrase | gōng shì gōng bàn | to do things in a strictly businesslike manner (idiom) |
| 筹办verb | chóu bàn | to arrange |
| 办公楼noun | bàn gōng lóu | office building |
| 操办verb | cāo bàn | to arrange matters |
| 包办verb | bāo bàn | to undertake to do everything by oneself |
| 置办verb | zhì bàn | to purchase |
| 查办verb | chá bàn | to investigate and handle (a criminal case) |
| 待办 | dài bàn | pending |
| 办公厅noun | bàn gōng tīng | general office |
办 appears in 100 compound words: 25 as the first character, 65 as the last, and 10 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 办 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
to take away somebody else's work; to run things all by oneself without consulting others
to do official business according to official rules; to handle matters without bias and favouritism
Example Sentences
办理护照需要准备一些必要的材料。
Bànlǐ hùzhào xūyào zhǔnbèi yīxiē bìyào de cáiliào.
Applying for a passport requires preparing some necessary documents.
有乳腺增生怎么办能消除吗?“消除”不现实,“控制”是目标
yǒu rǔ xiàn zēng shēng zěn má bàn néng xiāo chú ma ? xiāo chú bù xiàn shí , kòng zhì shì mù biāo
What should I do if there is breast hyperplasia, can it be eliminated?" elimination" is unrealistic, and "control" is the goal
中大主办APAIE年会开幕 约130场会议讲座料...
zhōng dà zhǔ bàn A P A I E nián huì kāi mù yuē 1 3 0 chǎng huì yì jiǎng zuò liào . . .
CUHK hosts the opening of the APAIE Annual Conference with about 130 conferences and lectures...
全球多地举办活动共庆新春佳节
quán qiú duō dì jǔ bàn huó dòng gòng qìng xīn chūn jiā jié
Many places around the world organize events to celebrate the Lunar New Year festivities
北京台春晚办到咱家门口了!同款打卡地在东城这儿→
běi jīng tái chūn wǎn bàn dào zán jiā mén kǒu le ! tóng kuǎn dǎ kǎ dì zài dōng chéng zhè ér
The Beijing Spring Festival Gala is now at our doorstep! The same kind of place to visit is here in Dongcheng.
首次举办新春市集,大学路迎来“最热闹的春节”
shǒu cì jǔ bàn xīn chūn shì jí , dà xué lù yíng lái zuì rè nào de chūn jié
The first ever Lunar New Year's Market, "The Most Bustling Chinese New Year" on University Avenue.
我坐过站了，怎么办？
Wǒ zuò guo zhàn le, zěnmebàn?
I missed my stop. What should I do?
我的手机不见了，怎么办？
Wǒ de shǒujī bùjiànle, zěnmebàn?
I lost my phone, what should I do?
日本办过多少次奥运会？
Rìběn bàn guòduō shǎo cì àoyùnhuì?
How many times has Japan hosted the Olympics?
你知道我父亲是否还在办公室吗？
Nǐ zhīdào wǒ fùqīn shìfǒu hái zài bàngōngshì ma?
Do you know if my father is still in the office?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 力 (strength) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 办 (bàn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 办 and 下?
How many strokes does 办 have?
What is the radical of 办?
What are the components of 办?
What are common words containing 办?
What characters sound the same as 办 (bàn)?
Is 办 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 办 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.